The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has issued a show cause order (SCO) to South Premiere Power Corp (SPPC) over alleged anti-competitive behavior at its 1,200-megawatt Ilijan Power Plant in June 2022.
The ERC issued the order on July 24, 2025, after a recommendation from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), the governance arm of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
The ERC directed SPPC, a unit San Miguel Global Power Holdings, a subsidiary of San Miguel Corp., to submit a verified explanation within 15 days on why it should not face administrative sanctions. The firm is accused of violating Section 46 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.
The order follows the ERC’s evaluation of an assessment report from PEMC, which found the Ilijan plant was on “open breaker status” from June 5 to June 25, 2022. This status disconnected the plant from the grid, preventing it from supplying power.
Sources said the Ilijan plant stopped operations in June 2022 after its gas contract from Malampaya expired. It only resumed operations in 2023 after importing liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The PEMC report found that the plant’s disconnection coincided with a 30-percent spike in market prices and multiple yellow and red alerts due to power supply deficiencies.
The ERC also issued a notice to explain (NTE) to PEMC for its handling of the incident. The regulator noted that PEMC first notified them of a possible anti-competitive act by SPPC on Sept. 13, 2022, but later recalled the notice “pending finalization.”
No finalized report was submitted despite consistent requests from the ERC between September 2022 and April 2024.
PEMC submitted its compliance in May 2024, which included a Market Surveillance Committee (MSC) resolution dated Aug. 11, 2022, approving the recommendation to endorse a Notice of Possible Anti-Competitive Behavior (ACB) to the ERC for an investigation into SPPC-Ilijan.
“We must remind our stakeholders that power generation—while it is privatized and deregulated—remains a business imbued with public interest,” ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said.
“Deregulation does not equate to freedom from rules. All stakeholders, together with the regulator, have that shared obligation to ensure market integrity, fair competition, and consumer welfare,” Dimalanta said.
