THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is looking to revive the Grid Management Committee to enforce compliance with the Philippine Grid Code as the grid needs additional transmission facilities and the role of the energy sector continues to evolve.
“Both the Department of Energy (DOE) and ERC are now seeing the need for the Grid Management Committee and we are looking to revive it as the energy landscape continues to evolve and as roles in the energy sector continue to intersect, “ ERC chairman and CEO Saturnino Juan said in an interview on the sidelines of The Manila Times Energy Forum on Friday.
The ERC had previously established the Grid Management Committee to monitor the country’s power transmission systems and enforce compliance with the Philippine Grid Code. But the committee was discontinued due to uncertainty over sourcing of its budget.
Juan said that there is a technical committee on the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) board whose membership the ERC plans to expand which could then take on the role and functions of the former Grid Management Committee.
“In addition to that, the budget for this committee has been solved and will now come both from market fees and also from the General Appropriations Act,” he added.
Juan said that the new committee would be announced simultaneously with the release of the New Philippine Grid Code.
“After that promulgation, we will be working [on] the possible establishment of this committee, and then transform [it] to become the new Grid Management Committee,” Juan said.
Back in July, the ERC said it was pushing for reforms to upgrade grid standards, strengthen system reliability, and enable the integration of renewable energy.
The reforms would then be included in the Philippine Grid Code (PGC) 2026 Edition. The initiative to revive the committee remains under discussion among stakeholders and would be considered in the code’s final iteration, the ERC said.
