The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) are set to look into the alleged anti-competitive practices of generation companies following the series of power outages in Luzon that began in July.
“The ERC will work hand in hand with the PCC to determine whether there was indeed market power abuse or anti-competitive or discriminatory acts committed by some generation companies or gencos during the recent forced outages,” ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar said.
“Having the PCC as an ally of the ERC will facilitate the investigation and adjudication of alleged collusion among GenCos. We will champion and work for the benefit of Filipino consumers whose best interests we are mandated to promote and safeguard,” Salazar said.
The parties will soon formalize the partnership to determine their specific roles in the investigations.
The ERC is mandated to penalize any anti-competitive behavior by any electric power industry player, and the PCC oversees the national competition policy by prohibiting these anti-competitive agreements.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) raised yellow and red alerts from July 25 to 29 after nine power plants in the Luzon grid went on scheduled and unscheduled shutdowns.
The DOE asked the ERC to perform investigations on the possibility of anti-competitive behavior on the part of gencos. The Energy department has also considered imposing sanctions on these companies as these power outages have a huge impact on the country’s economy.
