Drafting rules on power service transfer: Nominees sought for technical body

Power distribution utilities, generation firms, and consumers' groups have been asked to nominate their respective representatives to a technical body that will draft the rules - known as uniform business practices - governing transfer of customer service from one power retailer to another.

The Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued a memorandum calling for representations in the technical working group for the drafting of the standardized rules.

The ERC had created the technical working group, which will be composed of selected members from utilities, generators and consumers' organizations knowledgeable in the flow of operations on customer transfer, such as metering, billing and settlement.

The uniform business practices, or UBP, shall apply to retail electricity suppliers, local RES, distribution utilities, suppliers of last resort, and the contestable market.

The RES is any person or entity licensed by the ERC to sell, broker, or market electricity to consumers in the contestable market, which is a list of qualified customers as provided by the distribution utilities.

The supplier of last resort is a regulated entity obliged to serve end-users in the contestable market in case a customer cannot get electricity from a RES.

The ERC is now finalizing the draft of the UBP in compliance with Republic Act No. 9136 also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

Consumers have earlier complained that energy authorities have not got them involved in the energy planning, especially in matters affecting prices of electricity. Now, the ERC has responded and invited them to participate in drafting the URB.