Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday urged the Energy Regulatory Commission to sign a collaboration agreement with the Philippine Competition Commission to ensure consumer protection in the energy sector.
“We hope to see ERC, which has the expertise when it comes to regulation of the electric power industry, execute a similar memorandum of agreement with PCC, which is the expert in competition law, to fortify the consumers’ defense against possible collusions in the power sector,” Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said.
Gatchalian lauded the the collaboration between the Department of Energy and the PCC, signed early this month, as a major step in promoting an environment that is free from anti-competitive and collusive behavior, especially in times of sudden and unexplained power outages when helpless consumers feel that they are always at the mercy of energy players.