MANILA -- President Ferdinand R. Marcos on Sunday discussed concerns about amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) in order to make use of renewable energy to bring down the cost of power. This came after he was told by Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez that they were thinking of entering into joint venture agreements with solar power generators to enable them to buy the power at lower prices.

Benitez said the EPIRA Law does not allow producers to sell to the users but directly goes to the grid. The Chief Executive, for his part, said Bacolod City should get the opinion of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). He said whatever will be the opinion of the ERC on the matter would be the basis of an amendment to the EPIRA Law. The amendment to the law is one of the priority legislative measures approved in the recent Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting in Malacañang.

EPIRA mandates the ERC to promote competition, encourage market development, ensure consumer choice and penalize abuse of market power in the electricity industry. (PND-OPS)