MANILA, Philippines — National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is calling on the Energy Regulatory Commission to allow it to get back the P87.7 billion it invested in two crucial power lines, as it cried foul over a “misconception” that it was charging fees for unfinished projects.
In a briefing on Wednesday, NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Alabanza said NGCP had yet to recover the bulk of the capital that it spent on implementing the Mariveles-Hermosa-San Jose (MHSJ) and the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) transmission lines.
Data from NGCP showed that it filed for a project cost of P20.94 billion for the MHSJ, with the ERC allowing it to recover only P25.78 million.
Meanwhile, it coughed up P67.98 billion for the development of the CNP. However, the ERC only gave the green light for the recovery of P176 million.
P201.78M for projects costing P87.9B
In total, the NGCP collected P201.78 million for the two projects, still far from the total project costs reaching P87.9 billion. Both NGCP and the ERC did not disclose the amount of recovery fees the former included in its appeal.
“Hindi ko kayo mabigyan ng numero dahil bandehadong mga proyekto ‘yan,” the NGCP official when asked for specific figures for recovery fees. (I cannot provide numbers because they cover numerous projects.)
Alabanza said she highlighted these two projects as they were the latest to be energized.
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“Malaki pa ‘yung hindi nila ina-allow na singilin. I hope the consumers will understand. Like sari-sari stores, hindi kayo magbebenta nang palugi,” she said. (A significant amount has yet to be collected. Like sari-sari stores, you will not sell at a loss.)
“Ang panawagan namin ay bukod sa interest ng mga consumers, sana maintindihan din ang pangangailangan ng mga namumuhunan sa isang patas na regulation at recovery para sa aming mga proyekto,” she added. (Our appeal is that apart from the interest of the consumers, we also hope that the needs of the investors will be taken into consideration in the fair regulation and recovery for our projects.)