ERC should not delay approval of ancillary service agreements –Gatchalian

The Energy Regulatory Commission must not delay the approval of ancillary service agreements to ensure uninterrupted power supply during the dry season, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday.

“’Yung delay sa ERC yan ang nagiging problema natin ngayon. And in fact ka-text ko si [Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta] ng ERC na tingnan itong mga pag-aapprove ng mga power supply agreements to include reserves dahil nga kahit na kumontrata ang [National Grid Corporation of the Philippines], kumontrata ang mga distribution utilities pero hindi aprubahan ng ERC, hindi rin yan magagamit ng mga distribution utilities at NGCP,” Gatchalian said in a press conference.

(Our problem is delays at the ERC. I texted ERC Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta to look into the approval of power supply agreements that should include reserves. Because, even if the NGCP has contracts, if distribution utilities have contracts, but the ERC won't approve them, neither the distribution utilities nor the NGCP would be able to use them.)

The vice-chairperson of the Senate Energy Committee said the ERC must approve these agreements within 30 days.

In his conversation with the ERC chief, Gatchalian said he was assured that the body “will see to it” that the agreements will be approved immediately.

“If you remember, nung January, sila nga ang nagpataw ng multa sa NGCP na wala silang ginagawa sa reserba. Ngayong ginawa na ng NGCP, ‘di naman inaaprubahan ng ERC,” he pointed out.

(If you remember, last January, they were the ones who fined the NGCP for not having reserves. Now that the NGCP has done this, the ERC won't approve it.)

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview last Sunday, Gatchalian said he was confident the NGCP would not be raising any red or yellow alerts this summer due to the availability of a backup power supply.

But NGCP on Monday warned of possible power interruptions this summer season after the ERC denied its request for monthly extensions on ancillary service agreements.

The Department of Energy (DOE) projected that the Luzon Grid would be placed under yellow alert during weeks 13 and 17 of this year (April), all the weeks of May, and weeks 22 and 23 (June), indicating that the grid has thin reserves based on supply and demand. — DVM, GMA Integrated News