ERC seeks mega LNG deal review

‘We do not have any details yet on the deal apart from what appeared in news articles’

The Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday said it will look into details of the recently announced $3.3-billion mega liquefied natural power deal involving the country’s three largest power companies to address potential monopoly issues.

ERC’s review also seeks to prevent a negative impact on consumer prices that may result from the transaction.

In a text message, ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta mentioned that while the review of the merger is the responsibility of the Philippine Competition Commission, her office will investigate its potential impact on current and future power supply agreements of the Manila Electric Co., or Meralco.

In addition, the ERC will also scrutinize the conduct of players in both the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and the retail market.

“We do not have any details yet on the deal apart from what appeared in news articles.”

“We will review once we have more information, particularly as regards the results of the recent competitive selection process of Meralco and under other mandates of the Commission,” Dimalanta said.

ERC, PCC monitor industry

ERC teamed up with PCC to launch a joint task force to monitor and investigate allegations of anti-competitive practices in the power sector.

The power regulator said that the joint fact-finding inquiries aim to uncover anti-competitive conducts that harm consumer welfare.

“There has been a standing agreement for coordinated review since 2019. We just operationalized the agreement by setting up the joint inquiry last month,” Dimalanta noted.

The deal was initially questioned by consumer groups. They expressed concern that the partnership could result in a monopoly if regulators fail to exercise adequate oversight.

The consolidation, according to the groups, will primarily impact 8 million electricity users. Consequently, they might face the burden of repeated rate increases.