By
Lenie Lectura - July 2, 2019
THE Energy Regulatory
Commission (ERC) has entered into a partnership exchange agreement with the
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in a bid to
gain firsthand knowledge and insights from experts.
NARUC is a nonprofit
organization dedicated to represent the state public service commissions that
regulate the utilities that provide essential services, such as energy,
telecommunications, power, water and transportation.
NARUC’s members include
all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Most state commissioners are appointed to their positions by their governor or
legislature, while commissioners in 14 states are elected.
According to ERC
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Agnes VST Devanadera, the partnership
exchange aims to support the ERC in establishing regulatory framework governing
the Philippines’s downstream natural gas sector and establishing procedures for
expediting review and approval processes of power purchase agreements (PPA).
The exchange also
provided a platform for NARUC to share regulatory expertise and strategies to
promote gas market growth and adoption of best regulatory frameworks in order
to ensure safe, reliable and affordable energy for Filipino consumers.
“The partnership
exchange hosted by the NARUC and the USAID [United States Agency for
International Development] is truly beneficial for the ERC considering the
government’s thrust to provide a conducive environment through the issuance of
policies, plans and programs geared toward the promotion and development of the
Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry [PDNGI].
“The ERC supports the
DOE [Department of Energy] as it promotes natural gas as an energy fuel with
tremendous potential to meet the increasing local demand and ensure a
sustainable electric power supply,” said Devanadera.
During the partnership
workshop, the DOE made a presentation on the Policy and Regulatory Framework of
the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry. Meanwhile, the ERC discussed the
PPA Review and Approval Processes, as well as the Current and Upcoming
Independent Power Producers in the Philippines.
Resource Speakers of
NARUC include former Commissioners of Idaho Public Utilities Commission and
Hawaii Public Utilities Commission and Energy Specialists from the Michigan
Public Service Commission and Massachusetts Department of Public
Utilities.
Aside from ERC, the
attendees of the workshop were representatives from the Philippines’s DOE, Gas
Policy Development Project, Papua New Guinea’s Independent Consumer and
Competition Commission and USAID.
The partnership
exchange workshop was a collaborative effort between the NARUC and the USAID.
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