The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has issued a total of 65 Notices of Non-Compliance with Order to Explain (NNCOE) to various generation companies with facilities or units that exceeded the allowable number of unplanned outages.
In a statement, the ERC said the issuance of the notices is in direct response to the increased calls from government leaders, policymakers, and various sectors for “heightened accountability” within the power industry.
This call for accountability has been particularly emphasized following a significant 4-day power outage in Panay Island, with the ERC highlighting the need for consistent and uninterrupted electricity provision.
The regulatory body said the basis for these notices is ERC Resolution No. 10, series of 2020, titled “A Resolution Adopting the Interim Reliability Performance Indices and Equivalent Outage Days Per Year of Generating Units.”
This resolution establishes maximum thresholds for both planned and unplanned outages annually, across different generating plant technologies. It is a directive that stems from the Philippine Grid Code, which mandates a systematic approach to recording and reporting grid reliability through a comprehensive set of indicators.
Under the resolution, generation companies are required to report any planned or unplanned outage events to the ERC within 48 hours of their occurrence. Additionally, they must provide a weekly summary report every Tuesday, detailing outage events of their facilities from the preceding week.
The ERC has already imposed penalties amounting to approximately P60 million on various generation companies for breaching the Reliability Index.
According to the ERC, should the companies served with the 65 NNCOEs be found non-compliant upon further investigation, the ERC is prepared to enforce appropriate sanctions and penalties in accordance with its established rules.
ERC Chairperson and CEO Monalisa C. Dimalanta has renewed calls for amending Republic Act 9136, also known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.
She said the amendment will “allow the application of penalties imposed on erring power firms as refunds to consumers inconvenienced by the power outages.”