Republic of the Philippines

Congress of the Philippines

Metro Manila

Fifteenth Congress

First Regular Session

Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-sixth day of July, two thousand ten.

Joint Resolution No. 1

RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE PERIOD OF EXISTENCE OF THE JOINT CONGRESSIONAL POWER COMMISSION

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001″(EPIRA), was signed into law on June 8, 2001 and took effect on June 26, 2001;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 62 of the EPIRA, the Joint Congressional Power Commission(JCPC) was constituted and composed of fourteen(14) members with the Chairmen of the Committee on Energy of the Senate and the House of Representatives and six(6) additional members from each House to be designated by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively;

WHEREAS, the JCPC performs, in aid of legislation, the following powers and functions, among others:

(1) Set the guidelines and overall framework to monitor and ensure the proper implementation of the EPIRA;

(2) Endorse the initial privatization plan of the generation and transmission assets of the National Power Corporation(NPC) within one(1) month from submission of such plan to the JCPC by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation(PSALM) for approval by the President of the Philippines;

(3) Ensure transparency by requiring the submission of reports from government agencies concerned on the conduct of public bidding procedures regarding the privatization of NPC generation and transmission assets;

(4) Review and evaluate the performance of industry participants in relation to the objectives and timelines set forth in the EPIRA;

(5) Approve the budget for the programs of the JCPC and all disbursements therefrom, including compensation of its personnel;

(6) Submit periodic reports to Congress;

(7) Determine inherent weaknesses in the EPIRA and recommend necessary remedial legislation or executive measures; and

(8) Perform such other duties and functions as may be necessary to attain its objectives.

WHEREAS, the period of existence of the JCPC is ten(10) years from the effectivity of the EPIRA, or only until June 26, 2011;

WHEREAS, up to the present, certain key structural changes introduced in the EPIRA have yet to be carried out such as, but not limited to:

(1) Ensuring transparency by checking reports from agencies concerned on the conduct of public bidding procedures regarding the privatization of the remaining NPC generation assets and IPP contracts;

(2) The implementation of retail competition and open access on distribution wires;

(3) The formation of the Independent Market Operator (MO);

(4) The determination, fixing and approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission(ERC) of a Universal Charge(UC) for the following purposes:(a) the payment of stranded debts of NPC and stranded contract costs of NPC as well as the distribution utilities;(b) the equalization of taxes and royalties applied to indigenous or renewable energy sources vis-à-vis imported energy fuels; and(c) a charge to account for all forms of cross-subsidies for a period not exceeding three(3) years;

(5) The verification by the ERC of the reasonable amounts, including its determination of the manner and duration of the full recovery by the NPC of its stranded debts and by the NPC and the distribution utilities of their stranded contract costs;

(6) The reduction of the royalties, returns and taxes collected for the exploitation of all indigenous sources of energy to effect parity of tax treatment with existing rates for imported coal, crude oil and other imported fuels and the corresponding reduction of the power rates from all indigenous sources of energy;

(7) The performance by the National Power Corporation-Small Power Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) of the missionary electrification function; and

(8) Determining the weaknesses in the EPIRA and recommending legislative or executive action to make adjustments.

WHEREAS, under Section 34 of Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the “Renewable Energy Act of 2008”, the JCPC has likewise been tasked to exercise oversight powers over the implementation of the said law, which is currently under implementation;

WHEREAS, there is a need to oversee the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act which entails, among others, the formulation or establishment of:

WHEREAS, there is a need to oversee the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act which entails, among others, the formulation or establishment of:

(1) The Feed-in Tariff (FiT) System, or the scheme that involves the obligation on the part of electric power industry participants to source electricity from Renewable Energy(RE) generation at a guaranteed fixed price applicable for a given period of time, which shall be no less than twelve(12) years, to be determined by the ERC;

(2) The Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), which refers to a market-based policy that requires electric power industry participants, including suppliers, to source an agreed portion of their energy supply from eligible RE sources;

(3) The Renewable Energy Market (REM), which is the market where the trading of RE certificates equivalent to an amount of power generated from RE resources is made;

(4) The Green Energy Option, which is the mechanism that empowers end-users to choose RE in meeting their energy requirements; and

(5) Net-metering for RE, which refers to a system, appropriate for distributed generation, wherein a distribution grid user having a two(2)-way connection to the grid is only charged for his net electricity consumption while being credited for any overall contribution to the electricity grid: Now, therefore, in view of the foregoing, be it

Resolved, as it is hereby resolved by the Seriate and the House of Representatives, That the existence of the Joint Congressional Power Commission be extended for another period of ten(10) years from June 26, 2011 to ensure that the goals and objectives of the EPIRA and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 are fully achieved.

Approved,

Approved: June 21, 2011

(Sgd.) BENIGNO SIMEON C. AQUINO III

President of the Philippines