ERC officials: Travels legitimate

MANILA, Philippines -  Commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) have maintained that all their travels are legitimate, legal and necessary after Malacañang demanded an explanation for their “extravagant” trips from 2009 to 2015.

In a statement yesterday, the ERC said the power regulator is tasked by Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) to spearhead the restructuring process of the power industry.

Part of the restructuring is the establishment of the electricity markets. Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) started commercial operations in Luzon on June 26, 2006 and in Visayas on Dec. 10, 2010.

In its defense, the ERC said “the complex nature of the restructuring process and the subject matter of electricity markets require trainings and meetings of the members of the commission and personnel aimed to build their technical understanding and capacity, enhance and advance their knowledge and appreciation on current dynamics and emerging issues in electricity markets and the deregulated industries.”

“The travels in relation to these are therefore legitimate and necessary, not directly paid to these agencies but instead earmarked, appropriated and disbursed in accordance with their instructions. All expenses have been accounted for, disbursed and liquidated in accordance with Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) Rules,” it added.

Funds used in their travels were sourced from the market fees collected by PEMC, WESM’s market operator.

“Cognizant of the limited resources available to government in performing tasks related to the highly complex subject matter, the market rules obliged the provision of resources by the market operator to the ERC and the Department of Energy (DOE),” the ERC said.

Under the rules, PEMC shall set aside one percent of the market fees to facilitate activities of the ERC and DOE to effectively monitor the operation of the WESM, on real time and for review purposes.  

These activities include the procurement of monitoring system, applicable software licenses, the corresponding IT equipment, power market literature, materials and technical references; and training, meetings and activities related to market reforms, the WESM and the deregulated sectors seeking to capacitate personnel to effectively perform the mandate of the agency.