A consumer group is pressing the Department of Energy (DOE) to remove the exemption that allows the country’s first operational nuclear power plant (NPP) to bypass competitive bidding for supply deals.
The National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) strongly opposed a DOE circular’s provision enabling distribution utilities (DUs) to procure power from the pioneer NPP even without undergoing a competitive selection process (CSP).
The move would ‘deny and deprive consumers of their statutory right to least-cost power and expose them to long-term financial burdens resulting from non-competitive procurement,’ the group said in a letter to Energy Secretary Sharon Garin.
The STAR obtained a copy of the letter, which was also furnished to President Marcos, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and House Speaker Faustino Dy III.
This follows Garin’s signing of a department circular establishing a comprehensive framework for the integration of nuclear energy into the Philippines’ power generation mix.
Under the guidelines, DUs are mandated to ensure a ready market for the available capacity of the pioneer NPP, which will be exempt from the conduct of a CSP.
Nasecore president Pete Ilagan, however, argued that the provision contradicted the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), the DOE’s own circulars and Supreme Court rulings governing the CSPs.
Ilagan specifically pointed to Section 23 of EPIRA and two earlier DOE circulars that mandate all DUs to conduct a CSP for power supply procurement.
He also cited the High Court’s Alyansa ruling, which upheld the mandatory nature of CSPs.
‘Undoubtedly, these issuances institutionalized CSP as the mechanism to ensure least-cost, transparent and competitive procurement of power supply for all DUs,’ Ilagan emphasized.
Ilagan said Nasecore may be forced to pursue legal action to protect the public interest should the DOE refuse to withdraw the said provision.
‘We trust that the department will act swiftly to preserve the integrity of energy regulation and the public’s confidence in the DOE’s commitment to consumer protection and energy justice,’ he added.
Under the country’s nuclear roadmap, the government aims to deliver the first kilowatt-hours of nuclear power by 2032.
The Philippines’ first attempt to utilize nuclear energy was through the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was completed in 1984 but never commissioned due to safety and political issues.