On his first day of office, newly designated Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) officer-in-charge Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres immediately hit the ground running, while also giving commitment that he will uphold “fair, fast and transparent” processes in rule-making as well as in tackling the various pending matters awaiting immediate resolution at the Commission.

When his appointment as ERC OIC-Chairperson and CEO was released by the Office of the President over the weekend, Andres indicated that he will expeditiously work on regulatory matters that will advance the interest of consumers; while also pursuing balance so capital flow could be enticed for various projects in the energy sector.

In assuming the post on Wednesday (September 25), the first order of the day for Andres was a brainstorming session with the seating ERC Commissioners -- Alexis M. Lumbatan, Catherine P. Maceda, Floresinda G. Baldo-Digal, and Marko Romeo L. Fuentes; who will be the core officials he will be working with during his stint with the agency.

Additionally, Andres had his meeting with ERC Executive Director Nancy Aurora Q. Fajardo and General Counsel Heiddi V. Barrozo – essentially to take added grasp on priority matters needing to be addressed at the Commission.

“The meeting focused on briefing the Chairperson on the core mandates of the agency, as well as the urgent matters requiring immediate action by the ERC leadership to ensure the continued action on critical decisions,” a media statement from the ERC has emphasized.

Notably, Andres will be swamped with roughly 3,000 pending applications of power supply agreements (PSAs) and rate adjustments; as well as pending petitions for capital expenditure (capex) projects and various rule-making and regulatory matters to ensure the overall viability of the power sector.

Andres conveyed that for the employees and the leading officials of the ERC,  he holds them in high regard and he similarly respects the grind of bureaucracy in the government.

Nevertheless, he has been appealing for “help and support” in navigating the difficult task that he will need to deliver on at the Commission – primarily for the sake of the industry players and other relevant stakeholders who have been putting their faith in the actions of the ERC; not just to ensure investment flows, but to pursue decisions beneficial to the consumers on the sphere of rates affordability and power supply sufficiency.

In convening the management committee (ManComm) at the ERC, Andres had been apprised of “the urgent need for expeditious action on all pending ERC matters.”

The regulatory body qualified that so far,  the ManComm had “committed to provide full and necessary support to Chairperson Andres as he assumes the responsibilities of the head of the agency.”

The Commission highlighted that “despite the temporary changes in the ERC's leadership, the operations of the Commission will remain functional and unhampered in line with the needs and demands of Filipino consumers and energy stakeholders,” adding that “frontline services of the ERC will continue to be fully operational, ensuring that the concerns of consumers are promptly addressed and assistance is readily provided to the public.”