The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has primarily issued warning on system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and market operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) that they could be meted with penalties if they will not strictly comply with the prescribed timeline of approvals for energy projects under the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) system.

“In the case violation is committed by the system operator or market operator, the ERC is authorized to impose a fine of P100,000 for each day of delay in case of violations,” the regulatory body has emphasized.

The ERC expounded that “administrative offenses which may be subject of penalties under the EVOSS include willful refusal to participate in the EVOSS, willful acts which delay the operationalization of the EVOSS, and failure to comply with the mandated timeframes as provided in the EVOSS Act, or as imposed by the EVOSS Steering Committee.”

The rule on penalty imposition had been instituted by the ERC via Resolution No. 9, series of 2024 which it issued on May 7 this year.

In particular, the steering committee is led by the Office of the President, as represented by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin being the Chairperson; then Energy Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla as Vice Chairperson; while the membership will be coming from the relevant government agencies and industry segments.

As a system operator, NGCP has been vested with the mandate to approve the system impact study (SIS) and to ensure the grid connection of approved power facilities.

Currently, securing SIS is a major headache for project developers – especially for the massive entry of renewable energy (RE) installations, because it will take them roughly two years to secure that permit from the system operator.

There had been earlier pronouncement from the Department of Energy (DOE), as the administrator of EVOSS, to require NGCP to cut down its SIS approvals for power projects at least within six-month stretch.

In IEMOP’s case, aside from being the operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), it also acts as the central registration body for generation facilities – and it has to perform that mandate before any of the plants can be called for dispatch in the market.

The EVOSS is an online platform of project permitting in the energy sector – and this has interface with all approving government agencies, as well as with the relevant industry stakeholders, including NGCP and IEMOP.

That online permitting system likewise serves as a repository of information and permits, shared by all agencies and entities involved in the approval process; and it offers paperless transactions, utilizing online payment system for all fees imposed on applications.