Households get open access to electricity

MANILA, Philippines – The government’s move to lower the required power consumption in the customer choice program is slowly gaining traction, with two residential groups switching to their preferred electricity supplier.

EvoEnergi, a retail electricity supplier, said on Tuesday that it was tapped to lead the shift of the two residential retail aggregation groups, composed of nine households in Quezon City and 13 households in San Juan City.

READ: ERC lowers retail choice threshold to 100 kW

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The succesful shift took effect last June 26, the first day when the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) lowered the threshold to 100 kilowatts (kW) from 500 kW under the retail competition and open access (RCOA) program.

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RCOA allows participants consuming at least 100 kW a month to buy cheaper electricity from retailers other than the existing suppliers in their area. This could include commercial establishments, schools, hospitals, office buildings, hotels and manufacturing facilities, among others.

The retail aggregation program, meanwhile, allows households and smaller consumers that share a common area to consolidate their demand to meet the threshold.

This signals the expansion of the competitive retail electricity market to accommodate not just big corporations, but also smaller consumers.

“This is more than a market milestone; it is a major leap forward in achieving the core objectives of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act,” Julian Lao, president of EvoEnergi, said in a statement.

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“For many years, households have viewed electricity as a fixed expense with limited alternatives. Through the ERC’s retail aggregation program, the collective demand of residents creates stronger purchasing power, unlocking customized energy solutions that would otherwise be out of reach for individual households,” he added.

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EvoEnergi, also an affiliate of the listed Lao family-led D&L Industries Inc., said it was “actively” seeking additional residential retail aggregation groups in the capital region.

For this, the company said it was working closely with homeowners, community leaders, power distributor Manila Electric Co., the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines and the ERC for a seamless transition. INQ

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