THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has asked the Supreme Court to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the rules governing retail competition and open access (RCOA) that put uncertainty on transactions involving retail electricity suppliers.
“We filed a motion to reiterate our plea for the TRO to be lifted by the Supreme Court,” said Gloria Victoria C. Yap-Taruc, one of four ERC commissioners, adding the pleading was filed three weeks ago.
Rules governing RCOA are meant to give power users whose consumption has reached a pre-set threshold the “power of choice” to buy electricity from ERC-licensed retail electricity suppliers (RES). That power was questioned as the rules made mandatory the switch from being a captive customer of a distribution utility to one that can choose to forge a power supply contract with a licensed RES.
“They’re the ones who issued the TRO. It’s impacting on the industry and our hands are tied so we have to seek guidance from them [on] how we can move forward,” said ERC Commissioner Alfredo J. Non.
Republic Act No. 9136, the law that restructured the energy industry and privatized the government’s power generation assets, called for the passage of rules on retail competition.
Regulations issued by the ERC and the Department of Energy on RCOA have been on hold after several entities sought and secured a TRO earlier this year. The Supreme Court issued the TRO days before Feb. 26, 2017, when the switch was to become mandatory for consumers with an average monthly consumption of at least 1 megawatt.
It also put on hold the lowering of the threshold on June 26, 2017, which would have made the switch mandatory for those consuming 750-999 kilowatts (kW).
Retail electricity suppliers say they offer electricity at a much lower rate than that offered by distribution utilities.
ERC officials said they asked the court to allow the commission to lower the threshold to 750 kW while TRO is pending. They also asked to be allowed to issue licenses to retail electricity suppliers. — Victor V. Saulon
