Think tank urges Duterte to consider objections on solar franchise bill

by Anna Felicia Bajo/DVM, GMA News, Jun 17, 2019

An infrastructure-oriented think tank on Monday urged President Rodrigo Duterte to gauge the objections of various groups before signing off on the Solar Para sa Bayan (SPSB) franchise.

“The objection of Senate energy committee chair Senator Sherwin Gatchalian to the vagueness of inserted provisions during the bicameral deliberations should give the President pause before signing the SPSB bill, particularly the definition of under-served areas,” Terry Ridon, convenor of Infrawatch PH, said in a statement.

Infrawatch claimed that the franchise bill would allow SPSB to intervene in supposedly under-served areas in the event of 12 power interruptions in 12 months preceding the determination of areas under the SPSB franchise.

“However, the President should note that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has determined 20 power interruptions per year as the established standard on the acceptable frequency of power interruptions, particularly because the reasons for power interruptions can be due to a variety of factors which cannot be attributed solely to the fault of distributing utilities (DUs) such as electric cooperatives” the think tank pointed out.

The SPSB is owned and operated by Leandro Leviste, the son of outgoing senator Loren Legarda. Congress had approved the bill which would grant the solar firm a 25-year franchise.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian had opposed the ratification of the measure due to an insertion that, according to him, would negatively affect the power industry.

The insertion allowed the solar power firm to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power technologies and minigrid systems in the country.

It also requires Solar Para sa Bayan Corporation to operate its Distributable Power Technology (DPT) and minigrid systems in the least cost manner and to provide open and non-discriminatory access to its DPT and minigrid systems for any end-user within the franchise area.

According to Infrawatch, allowing the SPSB franchise to undertake these activities would “run afoul with the unbundling principle of the energy reform law or EPIRA,” which makes ownership distinctions between power generation, transmission and distribution.

“With the passage of the SPSB franchise, the main concern is the concentration of power generation and distribution in a single entity. Ensuring competitive power rates is therefore a legitimate public concern in these areas.” —