Published
By Myrna M. Velasco
It will be a tightrope
walk still for the power industry when it comes to cornering regulatory
approvals on pending petitions and applications with the Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) since the agency’s backlogs already swelled to 1,000 cases and
higher, as noted by ERC Chairperson Agnes T. Devanadera.
“We are not done with
inventory of cases yet, but our working number is 1,000 and higher (of case
backlogs)….these are all kinds of cases and decisions that we need to act on,”
she told reporters.
Devanadera qualified
that backlogs would include those filings that had already been deliberated at
the Commission level, but decision writing is still ongoing.
Others would also cover
those cases pending at various judicial bodies, including the Retail
Competition and Open Access (RCOA) policy that is subject to a temporary
restraining order (TRO) at the Supreme Court.
“What I am saying as
backlogs would include those for writing of the resolution… processes have
already been done at the Commission, but the decision has yet to be written,”
Devanadera explained.
She specified though
that the Commission will not act on the concerns relating to the restrained
RCOA rules, including petitions on the expired licenses of retail electricity
suppliers (RES), unless there is already a verdict or ruling from the high
court.
“There are cases that
we cannot really touch, including those with TROs from the Supreme Court,” she
stressed. At the temporary return of its four Commissioners for 60 days, the
ERC first vowed to work on initial 61 cases but efforts will be ramped up
depending on the pace of technical evaluation and hearings being carried out on
specific cases.
“We have our Commission
meetings every week. For the 61 cases, that’s already done, so we can move on
to other new cases,” Devanadera said.
On pending applications
for renewals of certificates of compliance (COCs) of power generating
facilities, Devanadera noted that these are priority, but the Commission will
also ascertain which facilities will still need technical inspection and
validation of operational efficiency.
“Of course, we know and
they know and the applicants know that it’s not just compliance to the
documentary requirements, but there is also inspection coming from ERC – it
cannot just be submission of documents, we still need to undertake inspection
of their facilities,” the ERC chair stressed.
No comments:
Post a Comment