The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has proposed redirecting its collection of fines and penalties from errant constituents into a refund scheme that benefits electricity consumers instead.
The proposal requires amending particular provisions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) allowing the regulator to apply the collected funds for the benefit of consumers inconvenienced by power outages.
The ERC imposes penalties ranging from P50,000 up to P50 million against non-compliant power industry players and remit the money to the Bureau of the Treasury.
“In fact, one of the recommendations we made was to allow the ERC to return, either in the form of refunds or discounts, to the consumers inconvenienced by the interruption of service,” Monalisa Dimalanta, ERC chairperson and chief executive officer at ERC, told Senators at a public hearing last week.
Apart from such an amendment, Dimalanta said the ERC also supports the criminal prosecution of power company officials for failure to prevent widespread power interruptions.
She also bared completing a study reconstituting the composition of the 13-man Grid Management Committee (GMC) and assessing the most efficient legal framework for this reconstitution.
The GMC is charged with monitoring the implementation of the Grid Code, and review and recommend standards, procedures and requirements for the connection, operation, maintenance, and development of the country’s power grid.
