OPINION | The ERC, NGCP, inflation and public debt By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. READ:
By Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr.our important events that occurred last week: the Energy Regulatory Commission dismissed the rate hike petition of the power companies of San Miguel Corp. ; the continuing threat of blackouts was highlighted; the jump in the inflation rate; and, the government’s cash operations and debt payment information were released.Last Monday, the ERC published its decision denying the petition of SMC for a rate hike for its two power plants.
One, the NGCP never heeded, never complied with certain Department of Energy directives like DC2017- 12-0016, DC2019-120018, on a.) conduct of performance assessment and audit of power transmission operations, business and assets, b.) conversion of ancillary contracts from non-firm to firm, c.) conduct of competitive selection process for the procurement of ancillary services, and, d.) requirements in the preparation and review of the Transmission Development Plan.
In 2021, the Philippines had a total power generation of 106 terawatt-hours . That year, Vietnam had 245 TWH, Malaysia had 177 TWH and Thailand had 176 TWH. These three neighbors of ours have smaller populations than us but have power generation much larger than ours. I support that. Monopolies are almost always ugly. Under the government national monopolies like PhilHealth and SSS, people in the formal sector have no choice to opt out. Under the private national monopoly NGCP, power generators and distributors also have no choice to opt out from its inefficiencies.Last week, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported the September inflation rate at 6.9%, up from August’s 6.3%.
The public debt stock has increased from P8.22 trillion in December 2019 to P13.41 in August 2022 . It might reach P14.0 trillion by the end of this year.
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