ERC to prioritize ‘critical’ grid projects

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is set to expedite decisions on the “critical” capital expenditure (capex) projects of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

According to ERC chair and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan, the regulator had received a letter from the Department of Energy to prioritize reviews on the transmission infrastructure of the national grid’s operator.

Juan said they aim to address these pending applications “within the month.” “We’ll discuss and approve the remaining capex that were not included in the fourth (rate reset), some were included in the fifth,” he told reporters.

This was on the sidelines of the energy forum that the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines hosted last week.

“If there will be a need for us to issue a decision on these pending capex projects so they can already be started by NGCP, then we will do that,” the ERC chief added.

Under a rate reset process, a regulated entity, such as NGCP, must submit to the ERC its spending and proposed projects over a period, usually 5 years, unless extended by the regulator. This will then be the basis of the rate that will be passed on to consumers.

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Last April, the ERC, led by then chair and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta, finalized its decision on NGCP’s 4th regulatory period rate reset, which covered 2016 to 2022. This set the NGCP’s maximum allowable revenue at P335.78 billion.

Earlier this year, the ERC released a document showing two approved infrastructure projects of the NGCP. These require an investment of about P32.02 billion. These are the proposed Western Luzon 500 kilovolts project and the Nagsaag-Santiago 500 kV project.