Procurement process could derail WESM’s efficiency

The Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), operator of the country’s power spot market, expressed fears that its operational efficiencies can be severely affected if the recent enlistment of the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) as government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) will not be reversed.

In a briefing with reporters, PEMC President Melinda L. Ocampo has noted that there are emergency procurements they have been pursuing especially for the information technology (IT) component of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) – and this is one aspect they can no longer do swiftly if they will be legally bound by the government’s procurement law.

“If we will be categorized as government, then we will be subject to salary standardization and the procurement law. Now, look at our responsibilities and our functions, particularly IT, sometimes we have emergency needs…if we are government and procurement goes on too long, then there would come a time that we will be losing the market because of inefficiency in procurement,” she lamented.

Ocampo qualified that if policy framers would really refer back to the intent and spirit of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), “the expectation really is, we are private entity.”

And while the legal personality of the WESM operator still stands on wobbly ground, she asserted that “so far, we’re still private because we are not asking for budget from the DBM (Department of Budget and Management).”

She said there had been continuing talks between the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) on how to legally resolve the inclusion of PEMC in the Executive Order of Malacañang putting it in the roll as governmentowned and controlled entity.

“They keep on communicating with us and we keep on responding that we are not government,” Ocampo stressed.

The PEMC chief executive further qualified “there had been discussions. So far, let’s wait, but then we are private. Otherwise, we will be losing our Board unless they would agree to file their SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth).”

Talks to sort out this legal entanglement for the WESM operator, she said, are fundamentally between GCG Chairman Cesar L. Villanueva and Energy Secretary Zenaida Y. Monsada being the designated chair of the PEMC Board.

“The evolution of the market is very fast so we should be able to cope with the requirements. We cannot dilly-dally just because of bidding processes that we will adhere to,” Ocampo said.