ERC to act on the WESM controversy judiciously

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) assures the electric power industry stakeholders and the general public that it will act judiciously on the alleged price manipulation in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM). The Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) Report regarding the said controversy was forwarded to the ERC last 24 November 2006. As an initial action, an Investigatory Unit was constituted and the verification/investigation process is now in progress. “The ERC will urgently attend to this controversy,” ERC Chairman and CEO Rodolfo B. Albano, Jr. remarked.

Pursuant to Sec. 45 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), the ERC is mandated to oversee the proper operation and penalize anti-competitive practices in the electricity market. Under Sec. 46, anti-competitive behaviour and any other violation of the EPIRA and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) can be penalized by the ERC with fines ranging from PhP 50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Pesos) to PhP 50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Pesos). Aside from the said fine, price control measures may also be undertaken.

The tripartite committee, composed of the ERC, PEMC, and the Department of Energy (DOE), will convene immediately to discuss additional safeguards to avert price or market manipulation.

“Rest assured that the ERC will strictly follow its mandate of monitoring and preventing market power abuse and anti-competitive behaviour equally, to guarantee the success of a restructured electricity industry,” Chairman Albano concluded.

December 12, 2006