NEW HEAD. Energy Regulatory Commission Officer-in-Charge Chairperson Jesse Andres in an interview with Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Friday (Sept. 27, 2024). Andres will temporary head the ERC following the six-month suspension of Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta. (Screenshot from PTV)
MANILA – Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Officer-in-Charge Chairperson Jesse Andres said he has found ways to improve the process of approving applications in the Commission.
Andres already met with ERC commissioners after he assumed office as temporary chief on Sept. 25.
“I understand there are hundreds of backlogs and even thousands of backlogs in the service that we need to do. And that's one of the good things about me,” he said in an interview with Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon on Friday. “If I should say, I always am a troubleshooter. I think out of the box. I have to find ways to make things go more efficiently. And I already found ways to improve it.”
Andres said stakeholders can expect more approvals of applications next week when the new commission convenes for the first time.
“We need to look at the regulations so that the process can be faster. That is the foremost complaint of the private sector. It's slow. We need to speed up the action on their applications. We have a lot of reforms to do to address that issue,” he added.
Aside from expediting the approval process, the ERC Officer-in-Charge vowed to be more open and listen to stakeholders.
“The important thing here is teamwork,” he said.
Asked how long before electricity prices could go down under his leadership, Andres said after one year, he will explain “how we have created the foundations so that a sustainable decrease in electricity can happen.”
Andres emphasized that the Commission has to continue its work and could not wait for the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman regarding the six-month suspension imposed on Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta on Aug. 20.
Dimalanta was accused of playing a part in allowing the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to buy electricity at higher prices from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. filed the case in November 2023 against Dimalanta and Meralco chair Manny Pangilinan over the power distributor’s continued purchase of more expensive power supply.
The group said Dimalanta’s approval allowed Meralco to pass on the charges to consumers without obtaining the necessary approval from the ERC.
Ratify nuke treaties
During the same briefing, Department of Energy Director for Energy Utilization Management Bureau Patrick Aquino urged for the timely ratification of treaties related to the development of nuclear energy that the Philippine government signed into.
Aquino said only after Senate’s concurrence of the treaties could the country start acquiring nuclear technologies from its partners abroad.
“Under out Nuclear Energy Plan and Roadmap, we want to ensure first that we have our legal and regulatory framework in place. This means that all the conventions, treaties that we have approved and signed in the International Atomic Energy Agency, these will be ratified and used,” he said.
Aquino said the government is also looking into creating a regulating body for nuclear energy.
He said the mandate should be taken away from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, which currently promotes and regulates the safe and peaceful applications of nuclear technology. (PNA)
