THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Thursday announced it has released the omnibus rules on consumer choice programs in the retail electricity market.
The consumer choice programs consist of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) and Retail Aggregation Program under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira), and various programs under Republic Act 9513 or the “RE Act.” such as the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) and distributed energy resources (DER).
Qualified contestable customers, or end-users consuming at least 500 kilowatts (kW) a month, may choose their own power suppliers through the RCOA scheme, according to Epira, which was enacted in 2001.
The GEOP allows users consuming at least 100 kW of power to source it from accredited renewable retail energy suppliers.
“The ERC is committed to advancing the goals of the RCOA, which we consider the ‘holy grail’ of Epira, as it empowers consumers with choices, and drives investment and competition in the electricity market,” ERC chairman and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta said.
Under the rules, a magna carta for retail customers has also been established, presenting key rights of retail customers, such as their various rights to choose suppliers, access to transparent billing, and protection against premature contract termination.
The omnibus rules also expand the implementation of the Retail Aggregation Program, which now allows the aggregation of demand within the same franchise area and also permits similarly situated end-users within the same distribution franchise area, such as facilities having the same owners or being in the same nature of business to aggregate their demand as well.
The rules will enhance the licensing requirements for Retail Electricity Suppliers (RES) to ensure their financial viability and competitiveness, requiring a Tangible Net Worth of at least P15 million.
The ERC said the omnibus rules will likewise introduce a mechanism for determining the standing of the RES, including criteria and parameters for assessing a retail supplier’s compliance and performance metrics.
Customer feedback has been added as a criterion for performance evaluations of RES license applications.
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