House panel focuses on ERC as proposed amendments to EPIRA get tackled 

The House Committee on Energy has begun deliberations on the finer detiails of the proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) Law on Wednesday, Aug. 14, with the solons giving particular focus on how to strengthen the ERC. 

The energy panel--through a technical working group (TWG)--zeroed in on ERC's organizational reforms to make it more effective and responsive to the needs of the energy industry. 

A member of the so-called power bloc in the House of Representatives, APEC Party-list Rep. Sergio Dagooc, stressed the need to strengthen the ERC by providing it with more teeth and manpower to address the agency’s slow approval process. 

He noted that thiz has been the subject of complaints and source of frustration from stakeholders. 

“We must overhaul the ERC’s system to address its inefficiencies and excessive delays, which have caused significant harm to the energy industry,” Dagooc said. 

“The ERC has been sitting on applications from generation companies or distribution utilities for too long, while it is also notorious for its slow approval process on NGCP’s critical projects,” he added. 

The lawmaker also criticized the ERC for failing to hold accountable the generation companies responsible for the massive power outage in Panay Island, which resulted in billions of pesos in losses for various provinces and cities. 

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“It’s been months since that notorious power outage, yet the ERC still hasn't released its findings. It seems they want the Filipino people to forget about the incident and let the responsible generation companies go unpunished,” he said. 

The ERC itself admitted that it needs crucial structural reforms and strengthened regulatory functions to allow the agency to enhance its regulatory capabilities and speed up its resolution of cases. 

The TWG also discussed the possibility of appointing heads who will focus solely on distribution utilities, generation companies, and transmission. 

The EPIRA amendments bill is a priority measure of the Marcos administration. The 2001 law has been blamed by many for the high cost of electricity in the country, especially when compared to neighboring countries.