MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Two congressmen on Monday questioned the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for allegedly passing the cost of unused and unfinished capital expenditure (CAPEX) projects onto Filipino power consumers.
Rep. Dan Fernandez and Deputy Speaker David Suarez brought the matter up at the House legislative franchises鈥� hearing, with Fernandez calling the practice unfair and detrimental to the public and demanding immediate reforms.
鈥淧arang 鈥榶ung mga project na ginagawa pa lang ng NGCP eh hindi pa po nagagamit, hindi pa siya useful, hindi pa siya commissioned, hindi pa natin makikita na siya ay efficient dahil hindi pa siya tapos, sinisingil na natin sa taumbayan,鈥� Fernandez said, underscoring the inequity of charging consumers for incomplete projects.
(It鈥檚 like the projects that NGCP is still working on aren鈥檛 being used yet, they鈥檙e not useful, they鈥檙e not commissioned, and we can鈥檛 see that they鈥檙e efficient because they鈥檙e not finished, yet we鈥檙e already charging the public for them.)
Present at the hearing was Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta who aired the same sentiment as Fernandez and revealed that the ERC鈥檚 minority position only allowed completed and commissioned projects to be included in the Regulatory Asset Base (RAB).
鈥淎s far as the minority is concerned, only the CAPEX amounts that resulted in actual assets. Hindi mo po kasi siya mabo-book as actual assets as if unless buo na po yung project eh (You can鈥檛 book it as actual assets unless the project is complete),鈥� she explained.
However, Dimalanta disclosed that the ERC majority approved the inclusion of CAPEX based on an 鈥渁s spent鈥� approach, a decision that Fernandez deemed unacceptable.
鈥淭he decision po of the majority is to allow NGCP to recognize the CAPEX of the value 鈥榓s spent,鈥� so it is the as-spent approach versus the completed and commissioned,鈥� Dimalanta said.
This did not sit well with Fernandez, who emphasized that actions like this should not be allowed
鈥淗indi pwede 鈥榶un. Hindi pwe-pwedeng nagastusan na ng NGCP 鈥榶ung proyekto na hindi naman natin nagagamit 鈥榶ung pino-produce nilang energy eh kinakarga na ng taumbayan,鈥� he said.
(That鈥檚 not acceptable. It鈥檚 not right that NGCP has already spent on a project we鈥檙e not using, and yet the public is already shouldering the cost of the energy they鈥檙e producing.)
鈥淒on鈥檛 you think that this is wrong and highly immoral na hindi pa nagagawa 鈥榶ung mga project, hindi pa siya nacoconsume, hindi pa siya napapatunayang efficient [ay] binabayaran na siya ng taumbayan?鈥� he later on asked.
(Don鈥檛 you think it鈥檚 wrong and highly immoral that the projects aren鈥檛 even completed, they鈥檙e not being used, they haven鈥檛 been proven efficient, yet the public is already paying for them?)
READ: 听
Suarez also questioned the unfinished CAPEX projects allegedly used to 鈥渂urden鈥� Filipinos and asked at the hearing whether there鈥檚 truth to claims that these projects are already being paid for by the public, to which Dimalanta confirmed yes.
鈥淢eron pong 鈥� hindi naman po lahat (There are some, but not all),鈥� she said. Suarez then asked about the 鈥渓ogic鈥� behind such a move.
鈥溾�橸un po kasing sistema po yung regulatory framework governing transmission and distribution supposed to be forward-looking po yan. Isasubmit nila yung mga plano nilang proyekto over the next 5 years, may budget sila doon [at] bibigyan sila ng authority to collect based on an annual breakdown of the approved budget,鈥� said Dimalanta.
(The system, or the regulatory framework governing transmission and distribution, is supposed to be forward-looking. They submit their project plans for the next five years, with a budget included, and are given authority to collect based on an annual breakdown of the approved budget.)
鈥淭echnically, pwede po under the current framework na kahit di pa tapos nakakapaningil sila unti-unti,鈥� she added.
(Technically, under the current framework, they can charge incrementally even if the project is not yet finished.)