DOE forms central committee to approve, review service contracts

All approvals on award as well as review of energy service contracts will now go through a centralized review body that was institutionalized by the Department of Energy (DOE).

On the strength of Department Order No. DO2018-03-0003 signed by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on March 16 this year, the department has cemented the creation of a “Centralized Review and Evaluation Committee” to oversee and handle the processing of service contracts in various segments of the sector.

As stipulated in the department order, this shall include review and evaluation of contracts in renewable energy, petroleum, downstream natural gas and coal service contract applications.

The centralized review and evaluation committee (C-REC) shall be chaired by Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos and will have Assistant Secretary Caron Aicitel E. Lascano as vice chairperson; while members shall be Assistant Secretaries Redentor E. Delola, Leonido J. Pulido III and Gerardo D. Erguiza Jr.

The newly created committee shall integrate and replace all the evaluation and review bodies separately created previously for various segments of the industry.

The DOE noted that this shall be part of streamlining of processes primarily in the processing of contracts being lodged to the department for its evaluation and approval.

The review body shall be supported by a secretariat to be headed by all the bureaus concerned; and will have memberships that shall include Director Cesar G. dela Fuente III, the directors of financial and legal services; as well as the division chiefs or assistant division chiefs of the bureaus concerned.

Prior to this arrangement, investors would have to go through the process of various review and evaluation committees on the approval of their contracts and proposed projects or ventures.

With the coordination of tasks at the DOE, it is warranted that the length of time of approvals of projects be shortened, hence, timelines of implementations can also be achieved without much wasted time on bureaucratic systems.

Investors have incessantly complained of tricky and long-winding red tape processes in the Philippines, and at times, this served as appetite-losing factor to many of those wanting to fork out investment-dollars in the country’s energy sector.