Joint Congressional Power Commission gets new name — Gatchalian

MANILA, Philippines — The Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) has been renamed as the Joint Congressional Energy Commission (JCEC), Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.

Gatchalian said the new name, which takes effect when the 18th Congress opens  on July 22,  would reflect the expansion of the commission’s oversight powers to the entire energy sector under Republic Act (RA) No. 11285 or the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act.

“The energy sector is a vibrant industry that keeps on growing and evolving and, as the primary watchdog in the energy sector, we also need to adapt to these changes, especially when it comes to our oversight functions,” Gatchalian said in a press release.

He explained that the jurisdiction of the JCEC, which  is the country’s primary watchdog in the power sector, has been expanded to oversee the implementation of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act; the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund (ECERF) Act; and the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) Act.

The senator noted that the commission has also been given oversight powers in the following bills: Microgrid Systems Act, Energy Advocate Act, Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, and the Philippine Energy Research and Policy Institute Act, among others.

There are also plans to further expand the JCEC’s oversight power to oil and gas-related bills, including the Liquefied Natural Gas bill, Gatchalian said.

“We want to assure the energy sector that through the changes to the JCEC, they can rest assured that there will be ample oversight from Congress,” he said.

He said the name change was formalized after President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law the RA 11285 last April.  (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)