By Danessa O. Rivera (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2015 -
12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - An overall
audit will be conducted on the electricity spot market as a precursor toward a
transition to an independent market operator (IMO), the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) said.
The power regulator is looking for
interested parties to conduct the independent audit on the Philippine
Electricity Market Corp., which operates the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market
or (WESM), chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.
“Our bids and awards committee
already published the request for expression of interest and the process is now
ongoing for the procurement of an auditing firm which will now conduct the
audit on PEMC,” he said.
PEMC, which has been operating the
market since 2006, is a 15-man body led by the Energy Secretary and composed of
representatives from each sector of the electric power industry as well as independent
members.
But according to the Electric Power
Industry Reform Act of 2001, the WESM must be transferred to an independent
entity or IMO one year after its establishment.
Salazar said the audit will help
start initiatives for the electricity spot market.
“Definitely the audit is just the first step
in determining the additional initiatives that we have to undertake with
respect to the regulation of the market. If we determine if we should undertake
additional initiatives to make us more effective in regulation, then we will
have to do that,” he said.
During the Senate public hearings
held in October, Senator Sergio Osmeña III has called on the ERC to conduct an
independent audit on PEMC because it is not subject to audits by the Commission
on Audit as is a private entity.
SGV & Co. has been engaged by
PEMC as external auditor since its establishment.
Salazar noted its independent audit
will be done side by side with that of SGV “to address concerns of certain
sectors.”
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