The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has moved the mandatory contestability date of energy end-users’ migration to the competitive retail electricity market to February 26, 2017.
“An end-user with an average monthly peak demand of at least 1 MW is hereby mandated to enter into a retail supply contract with a RES by its mandatory contestability date of 26 February 2017,” it said.
The power regulator has drafted a resolution moving the time frame for the mandatory contestability under the retail competition and open access (RCOA).
End users with an average monthly peak demand of at least one megawatt (MW) were originally required to enter the retail supply contract (RSC) with a retail electricity supplier (RES) on December 26, 2016.
“The forthcoming December 2016 deadline may no longer be a feasible timeframe for contestable customers to prudently negotiate and eventually migrate to the competitive retail electricity market,” the ERC said after the contestable customers and distribution utilities have asked them to confirm the actual implementation of the mandatory contestability.
The ERC is seeking comments from the industry stakeholders for the mandatory contestability deadline.
The implementation of the RCOA had a bump in May when the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) asked the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) to halt the ERC and the Energy Department
It was only in October when the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order to stop hearing Meralco’s case from enjoining the DOE and ERC to implement the new RCOA rules.
Under the RCOA regime, contestable customers – end-users that are part of the contestable market – are given the choice to choose their supplier of electricity aimed to foster competition in the generation and supply sector.
