BAYAN Muna executive vice-president Carlos Isagani Zarate today said that the current word war between the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) “may not have been for the consumers’ interest, but, apparently a proxy war among competing commercial interests of the country’s biggest power conglomerates fighting for dominance and commercial retribution.”
“Foremost among the real issues that we have to grapple with, if we are really to protect and uphold consumer interest will be first to ensure that power rates are low and the supply is steady,” he said.
“There should also be an absolute ban on cross-ownership among sectors, and ensure that existing structures or dummy arrangements violative of such are disbanded and penalized. This we believe can decisively address the problem of regulatory capture, where energy officials and regulators are seen as mere puppets of power moguls,” added the former Bayan Muna solon. “Sa madaling salita, ang problema sa power industry, is that it is seen as no different from a party/live events industry. Madaming secret dummy arrangements at perceived puppet regulators. Pero no matter what, the power oligarchs end up having a party at the expense of consumer welfare!,” he added.
“Now, even as ERC and NGCP are bickering, another power rate hike is in the offing and it is the consumers who are suffering. It is high time that power companies and regulators should be real protectors of consumers and not those of business interests,” ended Zarate.
