Stricter rules sought by ERC under EPIRA

MANILA, Philippines — Higher penalties, as well as enforcement of imprisonment provisions, are being sought by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to be included in the proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA).

ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said the commission has submitted its inputs for the planned amendments to Republic Act 9136 to the Department of Energy (DOE), which consolidates the proposals.

Dimalanta said among the items being pushed by the commission is raising the penalties to as much as P500 million.

“At present, it is quite low. The maximum penalty we can impose is only P50 million,” the ERC chief said.

Dimalanta said the ERC has also met with the DOE and the Department of Justice (DOJ) so that it can enforce the imprisonment provisions or the ability to pursue prosecution for non-compliance of EPIRA and ERC rulings.

This is being pushed to address those that do not comply even with the imposed penalties and fines, Dimalanta said.

“ERC does have police powers. In fact, under the amended Public Service Act, the commission can call on other agencies of government to enforce. What we’re trying to work out with the DOJ is the procedure,” she said.

Dimalanta said the ERC also wants its roles in the energy sector to be better defined in relation to those of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).

The ERC, under EPIRA, is tasked to promote competition, encourage market development, ensure customer choice and penalize abuse of market power in the electricity industry.

“The PCC is the national agency for enforcing compliance with competition rules and prosecution of anti-competitive behavior and abuse of market power. But in the industry, if you look at EPIRA, it’s the ERC that has that authority,” Dimalanta said.

However, Dimalanta said the EPIRA was a 2001 law while the Philippine Competition Act is a more recent one.

Dimalanta said the ERC and PCC have entered into a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in the past, but noted that the issue is more of coordination.

The cooperation agreement signed by the ERC and PCC in 2019 specified mechanisms to enable both parties to collaborate in order to fulfill their respective mandates through sharing of information and the conduct of joint fact-finding inquiries pertinent to competition matters within the electric power industry.

“We think that maybe we can improve and define the roles better, especially now that the commission is still building up the capability and the manpower to really handle competition cases, while for PCC, that’s their reason for being,” Dimalanta said.

“So maybe we can help each other on those things. Maybe they will investigate and then we will decide because in legal terms, it’s anomalous to have the prosecutor also being the judge. Maybe this is the opportunity to split – one is an investigation-prosecution agency and then one is the judge. We will just discuss who among us will do the investigation and who will make the ruling,” she said.

Dimalanta said the ERC would also have to check with the PCC about its comments with the proposals.

On top of these proposals, the ERC is also seeking changes to improve the organization.

“We want hopefully a bigger organization. More flexibility in fixing our organization,” Dimalanta said.

She said the power industry today is different from what it was when EPIRA was signed into law in 2001.

“In fact we’re moving toward a more retail-oriented market so we need to have the flexibility to move along and to reshape our organization as the industry also reshapes. And 20 years from now, I’m sure it will be different again,” the ERC chief said.

The amendments to the EPIRA are among the measures being pushed by the Marcos administration.