THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has expanded access to the competitive retail electricity market to a broader range of consumers via the implementation of a lower contestability threshold — the minimum level of monthly electricity consumption needed — to 100 kilowatts from 500.
Meeting the threshold allows consumers to choose their own electricity supplier under the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) and Retail Aggregation Program (RAP), the agency said.
The cut, announced by the ERC last November, took effect on Friday.
It said that 77 customers — 58 in Luzon and 19 in the Visayas — would be switching to RCOA, bringing the total number across all threshold levels to 96 customers.
Smaller consumers and households that do not individually meet the 100-kW requirement can qualify under RAP, which allows them to pool their electricity demand.
Eleven retail aggregated groups, all in Luzon, are scheduled for a RAP switch, bringing the total to 40.
“For the first time, residential communities are participating in the competitive retail market through aggregation, extending the power of choice beyond large corporations and industrial customers to ordinary households,” ERC Chairman and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan.
The ERC said it would continue expanding the RCOA through market oversight, consumer protection mechanisms and responsive regulation.
