The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore) is seeking a move by the Department of Energy (DOE) to update its rules on the competitive selection process (CSP) that govern electric rate-setting between power suppliers and distributors.
“Without urgent reform, Filipino consumers will remain at the mercy of anti-competitive arrangements and ever-rising electricity costs,” Nasecore President Petronilo Ilagan said on Tuesday.
The current CSP rules have not delivered meaningful market competition, Nasecore said in a letter, dated June 3, 2025 but was published only yesterday, June 10.
The group addressed the letter to Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin, who also serves as the DOE officer-in-charge.
Under the existing selection process, a distribution utility may sign a power supply agreement (PSA) with a generation company only after calling for and receiving at least two qualified bids from other companies.
Direct negotiations between a distribution utility and a power generation company can only happen with other suppliers after at least two failed bids.
Nasecore finds the current selection process a failure when it comes to upholding “ its core objectives of transparency, fair competition, and least-cost power supply procurement.”
Ilagan emphasized in the letter that such a case can be gleaned from the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) past transactions, which awarded power supply agreements to its own affiliates.
Naturally, such dealings simply discourage independent competitors from participating in the bidding process, Nasecore said.
“The CSP’s repeated failure to deliver new suppliers or fair rates–particularly in Meralco’s case–exposes deep flaws in policy design and enforcement,” Ilagan said.
“Without urgent reform, Filipino consumers will remain at the mercy of anti-competitive arrangements and ever-rising electricity costs,” he said.
The group called for the DOE to conduct a “comprehensive overhaul” of the rules, starting with a multi-stakeholder review, apart from a full audit of PSAs from 2019 to 2024 to assess adherence to the rules and procurement guidelines.
Nasecore added that an establishment of clear administrative and financial penalties for repeated violations or failure to foster competition is needed on top of institutionalizing the full public disclosure of CSP documents, including the bid criteria and regulatory evaluation.
Ilagan said the rules must eliminate “discretionary exemptions” and should narrowly define emergency procurement conditions apart from imposing strict limits on affiliate contracting.
