P101.8-B capex projects earn ERC nod in 2024

Power transmission lines. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines –  The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) gave its go-ahead for about P101.81 billion worth of power investments in 2024, its top official said.

In a briefing, ERC Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer Monalisa Dimalanta said 56 capital expenditure (capex) cases filed by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), distribution utilities, and electric cooperatives were completed last year.

She said these investments could “benefit more than 185,000 customers in the entire grid.”

These power players need to secure the commission’s go-signal for any infrastructure developments or improvements, as one of ERC’s tasks is to calculate and approve how much could be recovered from consumers.

Dimalanta also said that they were ramping up the approval of power supply agreements (PSAs), as the ERC only authorized 11 last year.

Aside from PSAs, the commission also approved 31 ancillary services procurement agreements, covering 41.63 megawatts (MW) of new capacity.

“This year, we are targeting the final decisions for all 36 ancillary services agreements,” Dimalanta said.

Moreover, the number of approved cases for point-to-point applications or those involving transmission facilities reached 15 with 2,362 MW of new capacity.

Nearly 400 certificates of compliance (COC) and provisional authorities to operate were also approved for independent power producers in 2024.

Meanwhile, Dimalanta said that for the first half of 2025, the ERC would prioritize the completion of the NGCP’s 4th regulatory period (4RP) reset, as well as Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) 5RP.

Under a rate reset process, a regulated entity must submit to the ERC its spending and proposed projects over a period, usually 5 years, unless extended by the regulator.

This will then be the basis of the distribution rate that will be passed on to consumers.

Dimalanta was confident that the commission could finish NGCP’s 4RP within January.

For Meralco, the ERC targets to complete it by June.

Late in December, the ERC said it adopted amendments in the reset process for distribution utilities that were “designed to recalibrate the rules to ensure timely resets while maintaining fairness and transparency.”

According to the ERC, it plans to issue additional amendments that would focus on timelines and processes to address delays.