The power of choice

When I joined the power industry in 1989, the main concern was reliable supply. We went through the dark days of long blackouts and supply was rationed. Certainly, challenges remain, but I can say that we have come a long way from those days where power was scarce.

Today, electricity powers our economy and our future. Nearly four decades since, one thing has stayed the same: consumers want power that is reliable, stable and affordable. Renewable energy now matters to them too. But there is something new. They want a say in where their electricity comes from and who supplies it.

That is why the recent public consultations conducted by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) are worth noting. Through its Market Operations Service, ERC gathered feedback on a proposed roadmap for Customer Choice Programs in the retail electricity market. The plan is to widen retail competition and customer choice step by step, until full retail competition arrives in 2031.According to ERC, the proposed five-year roadmap builds on the planned reduction of the contestability threshold from 500 kilowatts to 100 kW last June 26. This is expected to make around 12,000 additional end-users eligible to select their own electricity suppliers. Looking further ahead, the roadmap proposes lowering the threshold even more, to 50 kW in 2027 and 30 kW in 2030, while also rolling out advanced metering infrastructure, establishing a centralized metering data hub and strengthening consumer protection.

These are practical, forward-looking steps that help prepare the market for broader participation. More importantly, they put consumers at the center of the electricity ecosystem.

For many of us in the industry, this is both significant and encouraging. The ERC deserves credit for acting on some of the sector’s most important priorities. It is also consistent with the vision of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), which seeks to promote retail competition, ensure customer choice, support renewable energy and encourage energy efficiency and conservation.

So what does “power of choice” mean in the energy industry?

For many years, electricity consumers had few options. They received power from their local distribution utility and had little say in how that was sourced or priced. Today, that is gradually changing through several programs.

One is the Competitive Retail Electricity Market (CREM), where eligible consumers can choose their own retail electricity supplier. With the threshold now at 100 kW, thousands more businesses have that option.

They can now compare suppliers and pick the one that fits their needs. As in any industry, competition also pushes toward better service and affordability, encouraging suppliers to offer better products. Customers, in turn, learn more about how they use energy, which puts them in a better position to negotiate rates.

This matters all the more for small and medium businesses that are newly eligible under the lower threshold. Power is one of the biggest operating expenses and to be able to choose a supplier can help in terms of resilience and competitiveness.

There is also the Green Energy Option Program or GEOP. Established under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, it lets qualified consumers choose electricity supplied entirely from renewable sources.

That is especially relevant now, as more companies build sustainability into their business strategies. Under GEOP, qualified end-users can match their energy purchases to their environmental goals while still getting competitive supply arrangements.

Through GEOP, every consumer who chooses renewable energy tells the market that sustainability matters, helping drive investment in cleaner energy and support the country’s energy transition. Best of both worlds I may say: consumer choice and environmental responsibility.

The Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) meanwhile, offers another pathway. Under RAP, multiple end-users who do not individually meet the eligibility threshold can combine their electricity demand and take part as a single contestable customer.

In many ways, RAP opens the door to competition for everyone else. Small businesses, shops in commercial districts, enterprises in economic zones, condominiums and even neighboring communities can potentially benefit. The idea is simple: by coming together, consumers gain access to options once reserved for larger electricity users, along with more transparent pricing and consumer protection safeguards.

I have spent most of my working life in the electricity sector, and these developments make me very optimistic. When I started out, customer choice was like a distant dream. Now it is real: regulatory foundations are stronger, more concrete and the technology is better. What’s more, consumers are getting more information and are receptive.

Getting to full retail competition will take regulators, utilities, suppliers and customers working together. There will be challenges as with any changes. But the direction is right, and the payoff is worth the effort.

As I always believe, electricity is about serving people. Reliable, affordable and sustainable power has always been the goal and now we can add choice to the list. The ERC’s proposed roadmap brings us closer to that.

What I like most in all this is that consumers now get a say. They can pick what works for their business, their organization and in the near future, even for their family. The growing power of choice is truly one of the most promising things happening in the Philippine energy landscape today and something to look forward to in the years to come