The Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday said calls to amend the decades-old Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) are meant to update policies that strengthen the protection of consumers.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said key updates include clarifying the powers exercised by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC).
“It is always a continuing effort to amend the EPIRA so that we can adjust certain parts that may require some tweaking, whether it is on the ERC, the PCC relative to the energy sector, and the penalties that can be imposed by ERC. These are just some of the things that we need to clarify,” Lotilla told reporters at the launch of a wind power project in Ilocos Norte last week.
Earlier this month, Energy undersecretary Sharon Garin told the House Committee on Energy that other EPIRA amendments include banning foreign-owned or foreign government-backed companies from the business of power transmission in the Philippines.
The DOE is proposing for foreign companies backed by foreign governments to relinquish their investments within 10 years from when the EPIRA is amended.
EPIRA was enacted in 2001 and led to the privatization of most components of the power industry in the Philippines.
Since then, calls for it to be repealed or be amended have been made, citing its failure to reduce the cost of power in the country.
Thus far, none of the proposed amendments made it past the proposal stage.
