Senator Raffy Tulfo divulged his plan to convene the Joint Congressional Energy Commission (JCEC) to review and eventually decide on the amendment or cancellation of the franchise of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
Tulfo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, made the announcement following NGCP’s repeated failure to fulfill its responsibilities and obligations in operating, maintaining, and developing the country’s power grid.
It can be noted that said failure by the NGCP to maintain the stability of the grid led to the recent massive power outage in Western Visayas, which includes Panay Island.
“Billions of pesos were lost in our economy due to NGCP’s lapses.”
During the recent Senate hearing, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, Governor Arthur Defensor and Guimaras Governor Joaquin Nava lamented that the critical establishments in their province were affected due to blackouts. Worse, they said that billions of pesos were lost in their economy due to NGCP’s lapses.
The legislator said that consumers are the ones suffering from the collateral cost to electric utilities due to the recent incidents.
“Among the glaring lapses of NGCP are its absence of timely information dissemination to government agencies.”
Likewise, the lawmaker cited that among the glaring lapses of NGCP are its absence of timely information dissemination to government agencies as per policy or regulations and its failure to communicate with immediate stakeholders such as electric utilities.
Given the questionable competency of NGCP as a grid operator, the senator reiterated that it is about time to cancel its franchise.
