Kongreso hinimok ng DOE: Prangkisa ng NGCP, muling bisitahin!

MANILA, Philippines – Nanawagan sa Kongreso ang Department of Energy (DOE) nitong Martes, Mayo 16, na suriing muli ang prangkisa ng National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) dahil sa hindi maayos na performance.

Naniniwala ang DOE na nasa 80% ng problema sa kuryente ng bansa ay dulot ng “generous franchise” na iginawad sa NGCP noong 2008.

“The concession agreement is very much in favor of the franchisee. It is within the powers of Congress to review it before expiration thereof,” sinabi ni DOE Undersecretary Sharon Garin kasabay ng briefing sa Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001 sa House energy panel.

Sa ilalim ng Republic Act 9511 ay binibigyan nito ang NGCP ng prangkisa upang pumasok sa negosyo ng paglilipat ng kuryente sa pamamagitan ng high-voltage backbone system of interconnected transmission lines. Nagbabayad naman ito ng franchise tax na katumbas sa 3% ng lahat ng gross receipts nito mula sa operasyon.

Ang 3% tax ay “in lieu of income tax and any and all taxes, duties, fees, and charges of any kind, nature or description levied, established or collected by any authority whatsoever, local or national, on its franchise, rights, privileges, receipts, revenues and profits, and on properties used in connection with its franchise, from which taxes, duties and charges.”

“This could be the most generous franchise that the government has given to a private entity,” giit ni Garin.

“One of the recommendations of DOE apart from reviewing the NGCP franchise is that if the transmission company fails to deliver projects on time, the government has to take over, be it in a form of PPP or any government funding,” ani Garin.

“There are delayed projects for two, four years. That is why we tried to craft something to make the transmission company accountable. But [amendments to the] franchise can also fix that. We are in agreement that 80% of the problem of energy will be fixed with these [solutions],” dagdag pa niya. RNT/JGC