The Gordian knot of the power sector’s regulatory affairs will be eased as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is already scheduled to resume its formal Commission meeting this Monday (September 30), which will be the first under the supervision of Officer-in-Charge Chairperson and CEO Jesse Hermogenes T. Andres.

According to a reliable source, “there are already cases that we will tackle during the Commission meeting,” adding that the Commissioners are keen on substantially reducing the roughly 3,000 backlog of pending cases at the ERC.

On earlier allegations of the presence of. a restrictive resolution that may impede the OIC’s oversight function at the ERC, the source indicated that “there was no intent to clip the powers of the OIC-Chairperson,” specifying that “we are very willing to help him succeed in his work and goal during his stint at the Commission.”

While there is a lingering puzzle on claims about a supposed resolution that will flesh out internal rules at the ERC, the source emphasized that “discussion on that resolution has been deferred in February when it was calendared in our agenda.”

The source further stressed that “in the initial meeting of OIC Andres with the Commissioners and General Counsel Heiddi Barrozo, there’s also no discussion that the OIC cannot call for a Commission meeting,” and that somehow debunked the claims of other sources who earlier tipped off on the matter.

A version of the proposed internal rules that was deferred for deliberations under the leadership of Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta was shown to this journalist; but there was also another copy earlier furnished to Manila Bulletin, but the source claimed that such may have been unofficially drafted during the Chair’s suspension.

Despite such puzzle, however, the source noted that the Commission already agreed “to continue to work harmoniously under the OIC’s leadership” – that way, they can deliver service based on the expectations not just of the industry players, but most especially the consumers that they ought to protect.

It was also hinted that for the applications for certificates of compliance (COCs) or license for the operation of power plants, there was already an earlier proposal to address them through a referendum, but that is a matter that they will have to consult on with the ERC officer-in-charge.

The source expounded that deliberations of power supply agreements (PSAs) would still not be part of the agenda in their first meeting, but there is already a plan to fast-track the Commission’s work on these pending applications.

It will also be part of the regulatory body’s priority to tackle applications for capital expenditure (capex) projects for the regulated entities, including those of system operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) because of the grid integration requirements of new power projects, especially the anticipated influx of investments in the renewable energy (RE) sector.

On concerns relating to reserve prices for the green energy auction (GEA) line-up of the Department of Energy (DOE), the source conveyed that these will also be addressed in the targeted weekly meetings of the Commission.