The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) proposes to amend some provisions of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) that will redirect penalties collected as refunds to consumers inconvenienced by power outages.
ERC is authorized to impose penalties from P50,000 to a maximum of P50 million for violations by power industry players.
Penalties collected are remitted to the National Treasury.
“One of the recommendations that we made for the EPIRA amendment is to allow ERC the authority to order the application of penalties for return, either in the form of refund or discounts, to the consumers that suffer the inconvenience or the violation that resulted in the interruption of service,” said Monalisa Dimalanta, ERC chairperson and chief executive officer, in a Senate hearing last week.
Dimalanta said ERC also supports an amendment to the EPIRA that will make power company officials criminally liable for failing to prevent widespread power interruptions.
ERC is also completing a study on the reconstitution of the composition of the Grid Management Committee which is primarily in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Grid Code, as well as reviewing and recommending standards, procedures and requirements for the connection, operation, maintenance, and development of the country’s power grid.
