By
Lenie Lectura - October 2, 2017
STATE firm National
Trans-mission Corp. (Transco) wants to diversify into the telecommunications
business, saying it has the assets to compete with telecommunication giants
PLDT Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc.
“We want to be a
provider of telecom [telecommunication] facilities,” Transco President Melvin
A. Matibag said. “We will compete with the telcos [telecom companies].”
Transco, owner of the
country’s transmission assets, was created under Republic Act (RA) 9136,
otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) of 2001.
Since March 1, 2003,
Transco operated and managed the power-transmission system that links power
plants to the electric-distribution utilities nationwide. The same law mandated
the privatization of Transco through an outright sale or management-concession agreement.
Following a public
bidding conducted in December 2007, the Transco concession was awarded to the
National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), which eventually secured a
congressional franchise to operate the transmission network through RA 9511.
Transco turned over the
management and operation of its nationwide transmission system to the NGCP in
January 2009. Ownership of all transmission assets, however, remained with
Transco.
Matibag said “it makes
sense” to venture into the telco business, since “we are the owner of the
facilities”, he said, referring to the fiber-optic cables that could be tapped
to bring Internet connection all over the country. Besides, he added, the trend
now is diversification.
“I want Transco to
diversify, just like telcos and other private companies are doing.”
What needs to be done
first, according to Matibag, is to ask Congress to amend Transco’s charter so
it could legally offer telco services.
“Recalibrate the law”
that created Transco, which is the Epira, he said.
“Congress has the power
to do that. I want Transco to not only be a transmission company but also a
telco,” Matibag added. “This is a long process, but we have to start now.”
If his proposal pushes
through, Matibag said Transco would be renamed as the National Transmission and
Telecommunications Co.
“Funding will be the
least of concern when we would have the franchise and power to do that. After
all, we are the owner of the facilities. Globe and Smart [Communications Inc.,
a PLDT subsidiary] are using our towers for telecommunications.”
Matibag said he would
formally submit his proposal to Congress before the end of the year. He is
confident that the majority of the lawmakers will sponsor his proposal.
Currently,
as owner of the transmission assets, Transco is mandated with five key
responsibilities.
One of these is to
protect national government’s interests by ensuring NGCP’s compliance with the
terms and conditions of the Concession Agreement and the policies of the
Department of Energy. Another responsibility is the handling of all existing
cases, including right-of-way, and claims that accrued prior to the turnover
date.
Other responsibilities
of Transco include:
■ To divest remaining
sub-transmission assets to technically and financially qualified electric
distributors nationwide;
■ To undertake the
operation, maintenance, consultancy and other technical services for the
Philippine Economic Zone Authority; and
■ To administer the
Feed-in-Tariff Allowance Fund for renewable energy generators.
No comments:
Post a Comment