The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved energy projects valued at Php 101 billion last year, aimed at enhancing electric service for nearly 200,000 customers nationwide.
In a report by Philippine Star, ERC chairperson, and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta revealed that they decided on 37 capital expenditure (CAPEX) projects filed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), distribution utilities (DUs), as well as electric cooperatives.
Dimalanta said that 13 of these projects were submitted by NGCP, while 20 came from DUs.
The ERC resolved 19 capex projects in 2024, including 12 from NGCP and three from DUs.
Dimalanta also said that these projects represent Php 101 billion in investments required from NGCP and DUs to benefit over 185,000 customers across the national grid.
Last year, the ERC also approved 11 power supply agreements (PSAs), 31 ancillary services procurement agreements, and 15 point-to-point connection applications, while addressing 1,181 consumer complaints.
However, the ERC still needs to address its backlog of over 3,000 cases as of late 2024.
Dimalanta explained that these pending cases include 286 capex projects, 690 consumer complaints, 398 over- and under-recovery applications, 563 PSAs, and 200 rate adjustments.
She clarified that the backlog had accumulated over several years, with some cases dating back to 2017.
Looking ahead, Dimalanta reiterated the ERC’s commitment to finalizing NGCP’s fourth regulatory period (4RP) reset and Manila Electric Company’s (MERALCO) fifth regulatory period (5RP) and lapsed period refund within 2025.
The rate-reset process determines the investment, operational, and pricing rules for regulated entities like NGCP and MERALCO to calculate charges for consumers.
For NGCP’s 4RP, the ERC proposed allowing the grid operator to recover only Php 310 billion of the Php 552 billion it claimed to have spent from 2016 to 2022.
Meanwhile, MERALCO estimated that consumers could receive a refund of around Php 16 billion once its 5RP is resolved.
In December 2024, the ERC adjusted MERALCO’s 5RP timeline to July 2025–June 2029, from the previously approved January 2025–December 2028.
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