ERC goes digital in addressing complaints

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has debuted its "digital toolbox" in addressing consumer complaints as well as industry concerns, but industry stakeholders are wishing that the feedback mechanism and response system will not be as slow as the internet connectivity in the Philippines. Via its “LINKod” digital platform, which the ERC had established along with the Energy Secure Philippines (ESP) program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), it is offering an "easier approach" for consumers as well as the industry players to raise their concerns with the industry regulator. To date, digitalization across government agencies still portends "less than desired outcomes" where response are not proactive. According to the ERC, the traditional handling of consumer complaints were not just slow and inefficient, but there is also that lack of transparency and  very little opportunity for the affected parties to track the progress or action on their respective complaints. LINKod seeks to change that to achieve ERC's promise to "reduce processing time for all services by an average of 50-percent.” ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta noted “the ERC LINKod advances the ERC into the digital age, the electricity consumers can look forward to a more transparent and responsive energy landscape.” For such pioneering initiative, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in his pre-taped message, said “let this platform inspire other government agencies to further streamline our processes so that we can bring the government closer to our people. Let this launch be a testament to our unwavering commitment to build a better government and to foster a dynamic energy landscape that puts the welfare of our people at its core.” As designed, the ERC’s LINKod or online delivery of services would cover consumer complaints ticketing system (CCTS), online filing and application system (OFAS), as well as billing and revenue system – cashiering system (BRS-CS). This digital platform will likewise cater to  online submission of uniform reportorial requirements of covered industry players; as well as monitoring and reporting system for the Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM) of the restructured electricity sector. Ryder Rogers, director at USAID Philippines, indicated that the newly-launched digital service system of the ERC “will strengthen energy governance and will ultimately advance consumer welfare and energy democracy.” When it comes to security of its information technology (IT) system, the ERC specified that “the USAID helped ERC complete its ISO 27001:2022 Information Security Management System (ISMS) certification,” thus, that makes the agency “well-equipped for the roll-out of its digital platforms.” Currently, the Philippines does not have legislated "data sovereignty rule" being enforced especially for government information that may be compromised or may not be protected from unauthorized access or breaches, hence, this is an added concern that the ERC must stringently safeguard as it shifts into a more sophisticated data-driven digital platform as compared to the conventional mechanisms or manual processes that it had gotten used to for roughly two decades. Energy democracy itself is also a slippery term and a favorite word of embellishment, primarily of the entities wanting to create an illusion of action, therefore, there is a mounting challenge for the ERC to really concretize its ‘digital promises’ into actual services rendered.