I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The 33rd Status Report on Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 implementation covers the period May 2018 to October 2018 which includes significant accomplishments, developments and continuing challenges undertaken by the attached agencies as provisioned under EPIRA.
Pursuant to EPIRA under the privatization mandate of the Power Sector Assests and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM), the DOE sets a new directive to PSALM to remove the requirement for the Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP) to run as a Must Run Unit (MRU) for the next three (3) years upon the turn over of the plant to the winning bidder considering its technical and physical condition. Further, PSALM continues other privatization activities for other remaining plants and National Power Corporation-Independent Power Producer (NPC-IPP) contracts, and the disposal of other disposable assets to include real estate and unserviceable assets, waste and junk materials. With regard to the reduction in PSALM’s foreign debts, as of 4th quarter of 2018, the remaining balance is down to PhP466.4 billion from the peak of PhP1.23 Trillion as of year 2003 or a decrease of PhP774.5 billion.
The DOE commenced initiatives to fulfill the requirement of Section 30 of the EPIRA to put in place an Independent Market Operator (IMO) with the issuance of Department Circular No. 2018-01- 0002 entitled “Adopting Policies for the Effective and Efficient Transition to the Independent Market Operator (IMO) for the WESM”, which provided the basic principles to be adopted for the transition to the IMO
In terms of the electricity pricing as of June 2018 compared to the March 2018 national average systems rates, there is a significant increase of PhP0.32 centavos/kWh in country’s average electricity rates or equivalent to PhP8.57/kWh. In the Visayas grid, rate increased from PhP7.43/kWh to PhP7.81/kWh or an increase of 38 centavos/kWh. Luzon and Mindanao grid increased by 31 centavos/kWh and 34 centavos/kWh, respectively.
To attain further transparency in the billing and charges of the distribution utilities (DUs) to the electricity end-users for the greater protection of public interest, the DOE issued Department Cicrcular No. DC 2018-09-0026 entitled “Adopting Framework for Uniform Monthly Electricity Bill Format” signed by Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi on 24 August 2018. This policy aims for further unbundling of charges, adopt electronic billing, and reflect description of each charge to provide information among the electricity consumers.
Meanwhile, for the power supply-demand situation, the country’s total peak demand in 2018 was recorded at 14,782 MW, which is 993 MW or 7.2% higher than the 13, 789 MW in 2017 wherein 10,876 MW or 74% of the total demand comes from the Luzon grid while Visayas and Mindanao has a share of 14% (2,053 MW) and 13% (1,853 MW), respectively. Among the three grids, Luzon grid showed significant increase in peak demand since it grew by 822 MW or 8.2% from its last year’s peak demand of 10,054 MW. The total power supply, in terms of installed capacity, grew by 4.8% from 21,730 MW in 2017 to 22,23,815 MW in 2018. A total of 933.6 MW new capacities were added to the country’s supply base which include coal-fired (720 MW), oil-based (87.3 MW), geothermal (12 MW), hydropower (80.3 MW) and biomass (34 MW). In terms of share by grid, Luzon contributed additional capacity by 659.5 MW or 71% and Mindanao at 274.1 MW or 29% while Visayas has not developed any additional capacity for 2018.
Changes in the procedures for the provision of financial benefits to Host Communities were made with the promulgation of the DOE of Department Circular No. DC2018-08-0021 entitled “Providing For The Amendments To Rule 29 Part (A) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9136” which provides the rules and guidelines for the effective administration, management, utilization, and implementation of the Financial Benefits to the Host Communities. The circular, among others, will enable the transfer of all existing funds being administered by the DOE to the concerned DUs, Host LGUs, Regions, and Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous People.
To further accelerate the electrification program of the government as directed by the President, the DOE included in the Power Development Plan (PDP) 2016-2040 the Electrification Roadmap toward total Energy Access in 2040 with specific target of country’s 100% household electrification level by 2022 based on 2015 Census.This aims to accelerate total electrification by 2020, address ailing ECs, and ensure greater private sector participation.
Further, the DOE issued a Department Order No. DO2018-05-0010 creating the “Task Force E- Power Mo” (TFEM) for the purpose of ensuring access to electricity for the communities that remain unserved and underserved by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives as mandated by their franchises.
For more effective implementation of the law, the DOE proposed for the amendment of the Implementing Rules ad Regulations (IRR) of the EPIRA thru a draft Department Circular entitled “Amending Certain provisions of the Rules and Regulation to Implement Republic Act 9136 entitled Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001” and conducted focus group discussions and public consultations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao to solicit inputs among electric power industry participants and attached agencies. This is to identify provisions of the IRR that need to be amended and thereafter prepared the consolidated proposed amendments.
Click to view/download the 33rd EPIRA Implementation Status Report