The Senate on Monday passed on third and final reading a measure which aims to bolster the country’s energy security.
With 14 affirmative votes, three negatives, and no abstention, Senate Bill No. 2793 or the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act was passed on final reading before senators tackled the proposed P6.352-trillion national budget for 2025.
The bill aims to establish the Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry “for the benefit of all segments of the nation’s population and all sectors of the economy” by developing natural gas as a reliable fuel for power plants capable of addressing the peaking, mid-merit, and baseload demand of the country to help achieve energy security “while progressively transitioning to renewable energy sources.”
Sen. Pia Cayetano, Committee on Energy chair, said the passage of the bill will benefit the country and the next generation since, historically, natural gas is cheaper.
“This is a momentous step forward as we strive to achieve energy security and sustainable economic growth. This legislation supports our own and also international commitments to cleaner and more efficient energy production,” Cayetano said.
“…natural gas is a transition fuel and our goal is to move to renewables. This means also protecting consumer welfare because with the entry, we promote the encouragement of more investments in natural gas. We will have energy security that will be able to provide for more accessibility to natural gas and consumers will be able to benefit from this,” she said.
Cayetano assured that the bill is good for the country, environment, and every consumer in the face of oppositions.
“The law is very clear about fair and open access. It is not true that the people will not know its price. It is not true that it will force upon consumers the higher price,” she said.
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros, one of the three senators who voted against the bill’s passage, said the measure prioritizes indigenous natural gas, potentially undermining the ‘least-cost’ principle, which is crucial safeguard for Filipino consumers against unreasonable electricity prices.”
Hontiveros said the departure from the least-cost Electric Power Industry Reform Act pertains to fuel selection by the aggregator and generators, generator selection by distribution utilities and dispatch of generators by the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market “and is simply unacceptable.”
Under the bill, Hontiveros said, the domestic natural gas sector would be under no pressure to match their selling price with what is available from regional and global markets. She said the Philippine energy sector would be required to purchase everything that the sector would produce and even the most inefficient wells will be guaranteed a market.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who also voted against the passage of the measure, said while developing indigenous natural gas will boost energy security, this must be balanced with the cost impact on consumers.
Gatchalian expressed concerns on the provisions in the bill giving priority to indigenous natural gas over conventional source of energy even if the latter offers a lower bid; and, the absence of a competitive bidding or price discovery mechanisms for the procurement of indigenous natural gas.
