By Lenie Lectura - May 29, 2019
ENERGY regulators are keen on
fulfilling their mandate to institutionalize the Competitive Selection Process
(CSP) for power supply contracts—as a recent Supreme Court ruling reminded them—and
are holding meetings on the matter, a Department of Energy (DOE) official said.
Energy Assistant Secretary Redentor
Delola said the DOE is waiting for the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to
send a list of power supply contracts that need to undergo the CSP as ordered
by the high court.
The ERC is in the best position to
determine which power supply agreements (PSAs) entered into between a power
supplier and distributor are covered by the SC ruling. “As to which
contracts are invalidated or terminated because of the decision, it is the ERC
that knows that, not the DOE,” said Delola.
Delola said Energy Secretary Alfonso
Cusi and ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera have already discussed the matter and
another meeting is scheduled soon.
Once the list is turned over to the
DOE, Delola said the agency will inform the concerned parties that they have to
undergo CSP immediately. “We’ll have to make the list public so that everybody
will know which PSAs are affected,” added Delola.
The SC earlier ruled that “all PSA
applications submitted by distribution utilities [DUs] to the ERC on or after
30 June 2015 shall comply with the CSP in accordance with the 2018 DOE Circular
[DC2018-02-0003] and its Annex ‘A.’”
Cusi said that in consonance with
the DOE’s mandate, his office has been consistently formulating policies,
programs, rules, and regulations toward this end. He said the SC ruling affirms
the agency’s long-standing conviction on the fundamental role of the CSP as a
mechanism to ensure transparency and fair competition in the procurement of
power supply. It was designed to protect the consuming public from power rate
spikes, pass-on charges and avert predatory practices.
“The highest court of the land has
unequivocally spoken. Thus, in adherence to the SC’s judgment, we call for the
exigent conduct of CSP for the PSAs of DUs, which include electric cooperatives
and private corporations like Meralco. Power development in our country,
particularly in Luzon, has been at a standstill for three years. We can no
longer afford any further delay. We need to act now with extreme urgency to
make up for the lost time,” said Cusi.
As indicated in the 2018 DOE CSP
circular, the DOE will closely oversee the competitive bidding process to
guarantee that the exercise is conducted in an open, transparent, effective,
efficient and equitable manner. For its part, the ERC will work alongside the
DOE by enforcing and implementing the relevant policies formulated, as well as
all pertinent rules and regulations issued by the DOE. However, should the
process grossly fail, the DOE said it will not hesitate to enact all necessary
measures to uphold the integrity and completion of the CSP.
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