Asian Energy Advisors

ERC adopts new Rules of Practice and Procedure

This is probably good news, for just about everyone. I don’t know the details; and I certainly don’t know what "consumer hour" means.

But Chairman Albano’s statement that the new rules will ensure that consumer’s rights are amply protected isn’t very persuasive.

Napocor, Transco, and Meralco in particular, but all utilities in general, employee highly skilled and experiened experts (usually employees, sometimes consultants) - all at ratepayer expense - to prepare and advocate their case.

Consumers, or at least residential consumers, if they can scrape up any money at all on their own to hire knowledgeable consultants, are severely limited in their ability to examine and understand, much less challenge and rebutt, the work of these seasoned experts.

Most states in the U.S. have realized this situation and provide - at ratepayer expense - the ability to staff and hire highly skilled persons to advoate on behalf of consumers - particularly residential consumers.

Institutionalizing expository hearings sounds like a very good move. Consumer hour sounds … well, something less than earth-shattering.

[Disclosure - I'm an energy consultant.]