City Council approves intervention, complaint against NGCP

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

On Wednesday, February 21, the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Iloilo City endorsed the city government’s proposal to intervene in a case and file a separate complaint with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) against the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The action pertains to delays in the development of the Visayas power grid.

The council sanctioned Mayor Jerry Treñas’ February 16 request for a resolution authorizing the city government to submit a motion for intervention in ERC Case No. 2023-224.

This case addresses the NGCP’s procrastination in executing its capital expenditure (capex) projects and was initiated by the ERC motu proprio (on its own motion), which was also deliberated on Wednesday.

Through a recommendation from the City Legal Office (CLO), the mayor further implored the city council in the same letter to permit the filing of the city’s own cases against the grid operator, focusing on two specific capex projects:

– The Cebu-Negros-Panay 230 kilovolts (KV) backbone (Stage 3) with Iloilo Substation 3×100 megavolt-amperes (MVA) 138/69/13.8 KV power transformers; and

– 2×138 KV printed circuit board (PCB), 10-69 KV PCB as part of the Panay-Guimaras 138 KV Interconnection Project.

Additionally, the request sought authority for the mayor and legal representatives to demand compensation from the NGCP for damages resulting from the power outages in April 2023 and early January of this year.

CLO lawyer Llonil Viterbo informed the city councilors that “these were matters that the city government would want to address, particularly in speeding up the completion of these projects.”

“Even the ERC has predicted a repeat of the January widespread blackout. The intention is to pressure the NGCP to complete these two projects,” Viterbo articulated.

During his press conference on Monday, Treñas advocated for the city government to lodge its own complaint independently, rather than merely joining the motion for intervention, to seek recompense through the administrative body.

The mayor referenced the ₱2 billion economic impact of the outages reported by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), which would necessitate exorbitant filing fees in regular courts.

“If we file in court, we would have to pay a filing fee based on your claims, and with a ₱2-billion claim, imagine the cost of our filing fees? That might equate to a year’s worth of budget. So, we will present our losses first to the ERC and then decide the next steps,” Treñas clarified on Monday.