Electronics group ready to fasttrack EPIRA provision

The Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines (SEIPI), the largest organization of foreign and Filipino electronics companies in the country, is ready to fasttrack the implementation of the open access and retail competition rather than amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

As an alternative solution to proposed amendments in the EPIRA, SEIPI said carrying out the open access and retail competition may be achieved without the disruption associated with amending laws.

“We believe that the private stakeholders may be amenable to accepting immediate open access and retail competition provided that they would not be faced with the prospect of having to compete with the state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor),” SEIPI chairman Arthur Young said, in a letter Rep. Juan Miguel Macapagal-Arroyo.

SEIPI also noted that “the private sector can never compete with a state-owned firm because not only does it have access to the taxpayers purse but also because Napocor’s market share exceeds the dominance cap of 30-percent enshrined in the law.”

“With the Joint Congress Power Commission (JCPC) also under your leadership directing the way, this move towards immediate open access and retail competition, sans Napocor, can be brought about under the existing laws. In this way, no violation of the EPIRA may arise and, more importantly, no cumbersome amendment thereof would be necessary,” SEIPI said.

According to SEIPI, the group is ready to provide assistance in bringing all interested parties to consider this alternative and in completing the necessary staff work.

“We foresee that all these initiatives under your leadership will have tremendous benefit to the national economy, as Philippine industries become more competitive against those of neighboring countries.”

The group said that “it should not be difficult for government to hurdle this obstacle as we see that privatization of the Napocor generation assets has been lately been a tremendous success and still gaining momentum.”

“It would be sensible for government to ride on this momentum and replicate the process for the privatization of Napocor-IPP contracts.” Open access and retail competition can then be achieved in an auspicious time,” it said.

The SEIPI membership includes leading foreign and Filipino global players like Intel, Texas Instruments, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Toshiba, NEC, Philips, Samsung, Analog Devices, Fairchild, Sunpower, Cypress, Lexmark, Amkor Technologies, IMI, Ionics, and PSI Technologies.

The electronics industry accounts for $30 billion or two-thirds of total Philippine merchandise exports last year; invests an average of over  $1 billion annually; directly employs over 440,000 engineers, technicians and operators; and provides the transfer of best global practices on high technology manufacturing to Filipino workers.