MANILA — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Saturday said it targets to complete its rate reset review for the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) by the first quarter of 2024, about 8 years after the review was due.

The ERC gave the statement a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the completion of the rate reset review following the massive power outage resulted in billions-worth of losses in Panay Island.

“We are really targeting it by [the] first quarter. Hindi lang out yung report kung hindi new rates should be out by first quarter,” said Monalisa Dimalanta, chairperson of the ERC.

“Ikukuwentas klaras po natin yung ginastos ng NGCP at yung requirements niya kasi hindi nagawa yun since 2016,” she said.

“It will enable NGCP to also invest in the grid more appropriately and more confidently,” she added.

The rate reset review for NGCP has been delayed for several years due to internal issues within the ERC, Dimalanta said, citing appointment issues and suspensions during the past administration.

“Nagkaroon sa certain points in time na walang Commission because of suspensions… Nakaapekto ito sa trabaho,” she said.

“At the time there was already a quorum, no appointees were made. Then around 2018, may learning curves,” she said.

The NGCP had also filed a petition for a temporary restraining order against the ERC’s review before the Supreme Court, arguing that the Commission should only have “forward-looking” reviews, instead of “historical ones,” Dimalanta said.

On Friday, Marcos Jr. ordered the ERC to “complete the reset of NGCP’s rates without further delay, to ensure NGCP’s compliance with its statutory and regulatory obligations, and to defend in no uncertain terms against any attempt to defer, delay, or prevent the implementation of regulatory measures.”

“Accountability lies with the NGCP. They are tasked with grid stability. Stability involves proactive responses to breakdowns and unexpected events, a duty that NGCP unfortunately has not fulfilled adequately,” he said.

• Marcos orders swift reset of NGCP rates after Panay power outage

While investigations over the widespread power outage in Panay Island is still underway, several experts had already blamed the NGCP’s failure to deliver the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) Interconnection Project, which would allow Panay to import more power from nearby islands in case of shortfalls.

“Mayroon siyang (Panay) import capability pero 10 percent lang from Negros,” Dimalanta said.

“Vulnerable pa din yung state ng Panay subgrid kung hindi pa din completed yung CNP,” she said.

NGCP was supposed to complete the project in 2018, but it has yet to deliver the infrastructure as of this year.

After the initial deadline lapsed, the NGCP has promised to complete it by August 2022, and then in December 2023, the ERC chief said.

The company had cited right of way issues in Cebu for the delays, she said.

So far, the interconnection infrastructure has yet to be completed but the NGCP said it would be finished by March, she said.

The CNP Interconnection Project is only one of NGCP’s 37 delayed projects, Dimalanta said.

“Maraming nasimulan pero ang proproblema ay ang pagtatapos,” she said.

“Some are excused delays, like may right of way issue, pinatigil siya ng korte,” she said.

While the rate reset review is not expected to have a direct impact on electricity rates charged to consumers, the ERC needs to finish it to see how the NGCP has been investing to improve the Philippines’ power grid, she said.

“Kailangan makita natin saan mo nagastos yan? Doon mo ba ininvest yan sa talagang allowable? May mga expenses na dinisallow namin kasi hindi siya tama na sinisingil na expenses,” she said.

When asked if the ERC is inclined to recommend to deprivatize the NGCP, Dimalanta said: “If that will lead to lower rates to consumers, that’s the direction we will take.”

“Kailangan long term din yung view natin. Hindi naman puwedeng lower for consumers today pero yung consumers 10 years from today naman will be in pain,” she said.

• Panay Island hit by power outage; rotational brownout implemented in Aklan

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