The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the maximum annual revenue of the country’s power transmission monopoly for the next five years. In a decision, the regulator approved the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) revenue requirement of P40.47 billion in 2011; P41.65 billion in 2012; P43.37 billion in 2013; P44.39 billion in 2014; and P44.12 billion in 2015 for the third regulatory period 2011 to 2015. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The government faces a major setback in its efforts to privatize Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC)-Exploration Corp. after the board of the state-owned corporation failed to decide on the Department of Finance’s plan to sell the 10 percent participating interest of PNOC-EC in the Malampaya natural gas project. Read the rest of this entry »

WHILE the country’s green energy initiatives began taking off in 2009, earlier reforms in the sector risked unraveling that year. As local oil companies failed to reflect the sudden fall in world crude prices, the clamor for a revision of the Downstream Oil Deregulation Act of 1998 gained steam. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – As the holiday season draws to a close, Filipinos now gear up for the upcoming national elections. But as government officials raised the possibility of a power shortage next year, will the 2010 polls be done in the dark? Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – Power plant owners are pushing for the full commercial operation of the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) to address the concern of power shortage in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – To further uphold the rights of consumers, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is proposing changes in some provisions in the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers. Read the rest of this entry »

CEBU, Philippines – Labor unions from at least 42 rural electric cooperatives and consumer groups have launched “Koop ko ‘To” movement which is aimed at advancing the interests of REC workers and consumers in the country. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The biggest organization of businessmen has urged President Arroyo to issue an executive order putting together a private-public Energy Program Commission (EPC) tasked to come out with an action program to solve two big problems in the energy sector – high electricity rates and a looming electric power shortage. Read the rest of this entry »

BIG industries will finally be able to choose their power supplier by the second quarter of next year under an interim open access program. Read the rest of this entry »

MANILA, Philippines – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Department of Energy (DOE) will hold today (Sept. 26) the first large-scale swap of incandescent bulbs to compact fluorescent lamp (CFLs), signaling the gradual and voluntary phase-out of incandescent bulbs in the country. Read the rest of this entry »