The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has outlined 11 regulatory priorities for the first semester of 2025, with a focus on issues related to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
In a briefing, ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the commission will prioritize completing NGCP's 4th Regulatory Period (4RP) reset, covering 2016 to 2022, including the two-year lapse period.
The ERC will also address Meralco's lapsed period rate refund, potentially returning P16 billion to consumers.
Additionally, the ERC aims to complete Meralco's fifth regulatory period (5RP) reset, with a commencement target of July 2025.
Other priorities include resolving lapsed period applications from various distribution utilities (DUs) and finalizing a decision on the National Power Corporation's (NPC) Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification (UC-ME) petitions.
The commission will also review the interim order on NPC's new subsidized approved generation rates (SAGR) application for off-grid areas and NGCP's Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (ASPA).
Following the removal of Run-of-river (ROR) hydro technology from the third Green Energy Auction (GEA-3), the ERC plans to assess its eligibility for the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) scheme.
Further initiatives include enhancing net-metering rules, developing a roadmap for full Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA), and launching a campaign on Omnibus Customer Choice Programs and updated fines and penalties.
2024 achievements
The ERC highlighted its 2024 accomplishments, including 27 capital expenditure (CAPEX) project decisions, 13 from NGCP and 20 from DUs, totaling P101.8 billion.
Other noteworthy achievements from 2024 include 19 CAPEX promulgations serving over 185,000 customers. The ERC also approved 11 Power Supply Agreements (PSAs), adding 3,052.9 megawatts (MW) of new capacity.
Furthermore, 31 ASPAs were approved, generating 41.63 MW of new capacity, and 15 point-to-point applications (P2Ps) were approved with 2,362.43 MW.
In terms of certifications, the ERC granted 386 Certificates of Compliance and Provisional Authorities to Operate (PAOs) to Independent Power Producers (IPPs). A significant increase in Certificates of Compliance (COCs) to Qualified End-Users (QEs) was observed, reaching 3,806, which the ERC attributed to growing residential and commercial solar adoption.
Additionally, 894 COCs were granted for Self-Generating Facilities (SGFs) and 53 for Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). These initiatives resulted in a total capacity of 27,424.327 MW.