As Super Typhoon “Leon” approaches the Philippine Area of Responsibility this week, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has urged swift government action to address power outages and fluctuations caused by heavy rains and storms.

During a media briefing with reinstated ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta on Monday, Nov. 4, she explained that tackling power strains caused by severe weather conditions should consider both the public concerns and its electric cooperatives (ECs) in its distribution efforts.

“This is not only for the sake of our consumers but also the ECs to see how they can lengthen the billing delays,” Dimalanta said.

She added that “one of the long-term solutions I’ve thought of during my ‘vacation’ was to have a quicker response from government agencies, including the ERC.”

Dimalanta explained that one of the things she hoped for this year was to be granted authority to make amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) law, which included the privatization of generation and electric utilities, the establishment of a competitive electricity market, energy regulatory frameworks, among others.

“Sometimes deferring bills isn’t the only solution… There are other ways to deal [with the inclement weather effects]” she added.

Last week, power distribution firms were instructed to pause disconnections and provide flexible payment terms for consumers residing in areas that were hit by Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine”.

According to ERC, all distribution utilities (DUs) under the state of calamity were directed not to cut power to residential and non-residential consumers that did not exceed 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) to help them recover during the aftermath of the storm.

Subsequently, DUs were also ordered to provide its constituents more forms of payment to allow them to pay with various options.

“We have climate emergency or increasing climate-related disasters. The old institutions or mechanisms may need to be revisited in order for [the energy sector] to be responsive in the current situation,” said Dimalanta.

She also believed deferring bills would have possible consequences, stating that “deferring is a temporary, stop-gap measure which is why we need other solutions… The problem is that if there are more delayed payments, collections will rise, thus creating a domino effect.”

The ERC chief emphasized that this is a recurring problem as Filipinos face high prices during the summer and vulnerabilities during the typhoon season.

Meanwhile, the ECs who refuse to comply with regulatory directives will be faced with graduating penalties, such as monetary fines all the way up to revoking of franchise.