Amid a prolonged global oil crisis, the Philippines is poised to secure fresh grant and loan financing from bilateral as well as multilateral partners to support power-sector reforms and the transition to more renewable energy (RE) sources. United States (US) aid agency Millennium Challenge Corp....
The Philippines is set to secure another $1-billion loan from the World Bank in June, this time for an energy project follow-through and coupled with a $20-million grant, making the package the largest single financing commitment extended to the country by the Washington-based multilateral lender....
Twenty-five years after the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) restructured the country’s electricity sector, government and industry players are expected to raise a toast to “market liberalization” as a success story. Whether consumers feel just as energized, however, is another...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has imposed new limits on the maximum market share power generation companies can control in the country’s regional and national grids, part of its regulatory push to curb monopolies and foster competition in the sector. The ERC updated the installed...
Recent rotational brownouts in Luzon have highlighted the urgent need to modernize the country’s aging power grid, with state-run policy think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) warning that transmission bottlenecks and delayed infrastructure projects are increasingly...
The United States (US) government’s Millennium Challenge Corp. (MCC) has earmarked a $60-million grant for the Philippines focused on the energy sector. Documents discussed during the US aid agency’s economic advisory council meeting last month, which were made public last week, showed that the...
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has asked regulators for permission to cap an expected spike in electricity rates this month to shield households from surging generation costs and a weakening currency. In a proposal submitted to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the country’s largest power...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has ordered a nationwide temporary suspension of power disconnections to preserve electricity access during a declared State of National Energy Emergency and shielding consumers from immediate service cuts. In a newly issued advisory, the country’s energy...
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito has filed a bill seeking to strengthen the sugar industry and protect its farmers and workers from over-importation, weak program implementation and declining incomes. In filing Senate Bill No. 2114, Ejercito said it is imperative to improve the functions of...
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking regulatory approval to return approximately ₱9 billion to its customers, adding to an existing multi-billion peso refund program aimed at easing the burden of high electricity costs. In an interview, Ronald Valles, Meralco head of regulatory management,...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) lifted the suspension of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) across the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids, restoring normal trading operations effective Friday, May 1. In a statement, the ERC explained that this WESM resumption marks a return to...
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers will receive a reprieve on their electricity bills starting next month after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered the utility to accelerate the multibillion-peso refund to insulate households from global energy volatility. In a statement on...
