DOE works on power reform law implementation

The Department of Energy (DOE) is working to fast- track the full implementation of the remaining provisions under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) this year, the energy chief said.

During the first Joint Congressional Power Commission ( JCPC) hearing, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the law is working, after lawmakers questioned energy industry officials whether the EPIRA is working as envisioned 16 years ago.

“After 16 years… generation is already 90 percent in the hands of private sector. Prices have gone down, WESM (wholesale electricity spot market) prices are down to P2 per kilowatthour (kwh), there are more players. In general, to answer the question, the goal is being achieved but there are some delays,” he said.

Enacted in 2001, EPIRA aims to reform the power sector by restructuring of the entire power industry and privatize most stateowned power generation and transmission assets to foster competition among power players and bring down electricity prices.

The delays lie in the transition of Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) – the spot market operator – to an independent market operator ( IMO) and the implementation of the retail competition and open access ( RCOA) scheme, DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said during the hearing.

He said there were issues encountered in these two provisions, causing delay.

“We’re conducting studies for IMO. It is there we have to fast-track the process,” Fuentebella said. “For RCOA, their readiness is an issue we have to resolve. We keep on extending deadlines… but the DOE, ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) and PEMC are working through the tripartite meeting.”

PEMC, which has been operating the market since 2006, is a 15-man body led by the DOE secretary and composed of representatives from each sector of the electric power industry as well as independent members.

But under EPIRA, the WESM must be transferred to an independent entity or IMO one year after its establishment.