ERC shares regulatory expertise with Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA)
 |
ERC officers and staff share the Philippine experience on power regulation with the delegates from Bhutan Electricity Authority (left to right): Hon. Pema Rinzin, Commissioner, Hon. Kinga Tshering, Commissioner, Hon. Sonam Tshering, Chairman (center), Hon. Loknath Chapagai, Commissioner, and Mr. Nima Tshering, Officiating Chief Executive Officer. |
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) hosted the delegates from Bhutan Electricity Authority (BEA) during their Philippine 07 May 2010 study mission visit. The delegation from BEA was composed of its Chairman, Commissioners, and its Officiating Chief Executive Officer. The purpose of BEA’s visit was to learn from the ERC’s experience in regulating the restructured electric power industry in the Philippines, particularly the conduct of public hearings, public consultations and the rate making process.
The ERC and BEA have similarly undergone a restructuring of their respective electric industry in 2001 when both agencies were established by virtue of each country’s laws (i.e. Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA for the ERC and Electricity Act of Bhutan for BEA). In the case of Bhutan, however, a state monopoly still exists in the electricity industry, since its government owns and controls the supply of electricity and, thus, prices of electricity are determined by the government and not driven by market forces.
The ERC provided a discussion on its Rules of Practice and Procedure governing the hearings before the ERC, as well as the newly-adopted Performance-based rate-setting (PBR) for the transmission and privately-owned distribution utilities and the Rules for Setting the Electric Cooperatives’ Wheeling Rates (RSEC-WR).
Impressed with the comprehensiveness and rigor of the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, BEA’s Chairman, Hon. Sonam Tshering, expressed his intention to pattern BEA’s rules for hearing from the ERC’s version.
Including the BEA, delegates from the regulatory authorities of six (6) countries have visited the Philippine ERC - namely, South Korea (Korea Electricity Commission or KOREC), Vietnam (Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or ERAV), Kenya (ERC), Tanzania (Energy and Water Utilities Authority or EWURA) and Thailand (ERC). The Philippines was observed to be one of the most advanced in terms of electric power industry restructuring and regulation among the other developing countries.
“The ERC’s vision to become Asia’s benchmark for excellence in power regulation is not far-fetched. It is moving slowly but surely towards the one of the supreme goals of EPIRA - that is Open Access and Retail Competition – while adhering to its mission to protect the long-term interests of the electricity consumers,” ERC Chairperson Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut concluded.
May 14, 2010