Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles questioned how the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) Inc. got the contract to manage the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) without undergoing the proper selection process.
IEMOP managed to seal the deal with only P7,000 in paid-up capital, according to Nograles.
“Laway lang ang puhunan. Ginigisa ang mga electricity users at tayong lahat sa sarili nating mantika,” Nograles was quoted in a Philippine Star report.
This resulted in earning “more than P100 million in months.” IEMOP has seven incorporators who put in only P1,000 each.
“The ‘sweetheart deal’ made it possible for IEMOP to grow from a P7,000 capitalization to become a multimillion outfit with a total declared income of more than P100 million for the end of 2018. This will need a lot of explaining,” Nograles said.
Nograles called on the House of Representatives’ committee on energy to investigate the deal.
Based on the documents submitted, the IEMOP has no experience and no assets to serve as the operator of the WESM.
“To make the absurd obvious, a capitalization of P7,000 is not even enough to buy a food cart franchise, what more to manage the wholesale electricity spot market?” he added.
Nograles said there should have been a competitive selection process to see which company is most competent to manage the spot market.
