The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said the regulator would accelerate its decisions on power supply deals to boost investor confidence and ensure reasonable prices for consumers.

During a recent meeting, ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan stated that the commission needs to implement internal reforms to speed up approvals, especially for contracts awarded through a competitive selection process (CSP) that already complies with Department of Energy (DOE) guidelines.

To better align with government mandates and a Supreme Court ruling, the new ERC chief is considering amendments to the CSP guidelines and will consult with stakeholders as part of the process.

“This is one of the causes of backlog, and not just the backlog, but also the delays and hesitation in attracting investments into the country,” Juan said.

He explained that if the ERC lowers an approved rate from the agreed-upon price—for example, from ₱5 to ₱1—it could cause the contract to be terminated or discourage the investment from moving forward.

Other power generators might then try to sell their electricity outside of a distribution utility (DU) for better market prices. This, however, could result in the DU losing its contract capacity and being forced to purchase power from the more expensive Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

According to Juan, Emergency Power Supply Agreements (EPSAs), which are temporary contracts designed to ensure DUs have power while regular contracts are finalized, are currently in limbo due to delays in formal contract approvals.

“If these PSAs had been formalized, then they could've been immediately implemented,” he noted.

The ERC previously required provisional approval for EPSAs to be implemented. However, these agreements must now be put into effect immediately once agreed upon, even without provisional approval. DUs are still required to submit them for final approval within a set timeframe.

Moving forward, Juan hopes that these internal improvements will expedite the approval process while ensuring compliance with government regulations and maintaining competitiveness.

“I thought of proposing some revisions to see what really is the ERC's role in approving PSAs now that the DOE’s CSP requirement has been institutionalized,” he said. “If our process for approving PSAs changes from what it is now, the filing process would become easier.”