The effective suspension of four commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission this week left the agency immobile and unable to decide on pending issues concerning electricity supply and investments in the power sector.
ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera had no choice but to implement an order of the Ombudsman suspending commissioners Josefina Patricia Asirit, Alfredo Non, Geronimo Sta. Ana and Gloria Yap-Taruc for allegedly exempting Manila Electric Co. from the so-called competitive selection process in power supply agreements.
Devanadera earlier held in abeyance the implementation of the suspension order pending a directive from the Office of the President, but she had to enforce the Ombudsman decision sooner or later. She was was left alone to man the commission, leaving the agency “paralyzed” in issuing crucial decisions in the energy sector.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, meanwhile, wanted to prevent a vacuum in ERC and asked President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint temporary commissioners in the body pending the resolution of the case filed against the four. But no new appointments were made.
The impasse has alarmed companies in the power sector, which have committed to invest a combined P1.59 trillion to support the growing Philippine economy. A fair and functioning ERC is critical for the energy sector to work, according to one power executive. A working regulatory body balances the welfare of the paying consumers, interests of the private investors, and the government’s desire for reliable and ample power, he adds.
The Philippines cannot afford to let the stalemate go on. The ERC has the responsibility of approving the capital expenditures of power companies, retailers and the grid operator. It pegs the rate charged by solar, wind power and other renewable companies to customers to make clean and alternative energy a viable business.
At stake are numerous power plants in the pipeline and the fate of the economy as a whole. A growing economy needs all the energy supply it can get to power industries and consumption. And it needs an effective and fair regulator to get the job done.