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By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter
OPEN access, wherein consumers choose their
power suppliers, is unlikely to directly benefit households, an
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) official, said.
In a forum organized by the Philippine Press
Council, Francisco Jose S. Villa Jr., ERC planning and information
office director, said that benefits consumers can enjoy from the
implementation of an open access scheme in the power sector “will
essentially be through a multiplier effect” when industries start
having lower power rates.
He said that once open access kicks in it will
initially only benefit those with a minimum demand of one megawatt
per year such as businesses in the cement and electronics
industries.
Government has been looking forward to open
access to spur competition in the power sector in hopes of driving
down the country’s electricity rates, considered one of the
highest in Asia.
Once industries start enjoying lower power
rates, however, consumers can expect better service and security
that these businesses will not look elsewhere in the region to move
their operations, Villa said.
Lasse A. Holopainen, president of the Philippine
Electricity Market Corp., which operates the country’s energy spot
market, likewise said that encouraging competition in the power
sector will redound to an improvement in the quality of service
businesses can offer as can be seen from once monopolized industries
such as telecommunications and air transport.
He, however, scored moves to amend the Electric
Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 [Epira] to fast track its
implementation, saying “there’s no point in having open access
if you have the same players selling electricity.”
Lawmakers are pushing for amendments to the
Epira, including cutting the law’s privatization threshold to 50
percent in light of delays in the sale of state power assets. The
law requires the government to sell at least 70 percent of
generating plants run by state-owned National Power Corp. before an
open access scheme is implemented.
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