PEMC asked to provide calculations on CSP fees

Power spot market operator Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) has been required to submit its calculations on the level of fees that it shall levy corresponding to its role as the proposed third party auctioneer (TPA) on competitive selection process (CSP) of power supply contracting.

Senate Committee on Energy Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian said that had been one of the concerns discussed during the Upper Chamber’s hearing on the proposed CSP legislative measure.

“I want exact figures, so we compelled PEMC to provide exact figures. We have to study whether those figures are justifiable,” the lawmaker said.

He added that another matter being re-validated is on the accountability of the TPA in case it commits miscalculations or blunders on its validation of bid submissions.

“In this case, we will study whether it is DOE (Department of Energy) or ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) that should have the jurisdiction over the TPA,” Gatchalian stressed.

The CSP bill has been proposed to be fleshed out and be fine-tuned at a technical working group (TWG) level before advancing it into next levels of legislative processes.

The measure’s overall intent is to have a centralized CSP, which may be instituted by a third party on power supply procurement covering the un-contracted demand of the captive market or those that may not have freedom of choice yet in the retail market, primarily residential end-users.

In the draft bill, it was emphasized that in all stages of the CSP, there shall be at least one observer present from the DOE, ERC, the Philippine Competition Commission or the Commission on Audit – or in the case of the electric cooperatives, a member of the National Electrification Administration.

“The observers shall keep all information acquired by virtue of the proceedings confidential while the competitive bidding is still ongoing,” it was noted.