Salazar explains ‘deferred decision’ on CSP guidelines

After several days of stonewalling, an explanation was finally laid down by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) why they had deferred decision on the final implementing guidelines of the competitive selection process (CSP) for the power supply agreements (PSAs) of distribution utilities.

ERC Chairman Jose Vicente B. Salazar has indicated that there are specific matters that they have yet to resolve with the Department of Energy (DOE) – the original agencyproponent of the CSP supply procurement policy.

“We will defer any announcement on CSP as we prepare for the meeting requested by the DOE Secretary next Wednesday (November 4),” Salazar said in his lateafternoon October 28 text message to the media.

He added that the regulatory body “shall make appropriate announcement on the matter after the said meeting is held.”

Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada is in Europe this week, hence, the two agencies cannot sit down yet to discuss the pressing issues that have to be resolved relating to the issuance of the CSP guidelines.

The deadline jointly set by the DOE and ERC on the implementing rules of the CSP policy was October 27 – but until Wednesday (October 28), it was still a major guessinggame what steps the government had particularly taken on it.

The CSP is a very controversial policy set out via a Circular issued by former Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla on his last days in office.

Affected industry stakeholders have openly voiced out their respective ques- tions on the policy – and since these had been too many – they somehow overwhelmed the DOE and ERC, primarily on the crafting of the policy’s definitive guidelines.

The energy department is hellbent on enforcing mandatory CSP, but some players in the industry like the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) have been batting for a “voluntary phase first” so there could be a way to test the concept and system if it will eventually turn out viable.

Petilla reckoned that the CSP could be a transparent process for the DUs to procure their supply requirements and may also provide some leeway for power rates in the country to go down.

When the specific issues were fleshed out though, industry stakeholders have myriad of questions that the policy framers themselves cannot answer. Such raised some doubts then if the overarching goal of the proposed policy can really be achieved.