More commissioners, greater delays - ERC

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has warned that increasing the number of commissioners could only cause deeper divisions and result in further delays in reaching final decisions, particularly in rate cases.

- By BRIX LELIS

This concern arises amid a proposal to expand the current five-member regulatory body to nine under the proposed amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

ERC chairman and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan said they submitted a position paper to the House of Representatives, expressing reservations about the move.

“What we're saying is that this is more of a reaction to what was happening (case backlogs), and the failure is not due to the current structure but rather to something else,” Juan said in a chance interview.

Under a proposed amendment to EPIRA, the collegial body will increase to nine members, with Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao having three commissioners each in a bid to address regulatory backlogs.