Transcript of opening statement of Senator Pia S. Cayetano
October 17, 2024
TRANSCRIPT of OPENING STATEMENT of SENATOR PIA S. CAYETANO
Committee on Energy Hearing on EPIRA (Strengthening the Energy Regulatory Commission)
This meeting is called to order. This is a joint hearing with the Committees on Energy, Ways and Means, and Finance. On the agenda today are SBNs 217, 486, 1612, and 2348 amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act otherwise known as EPIRA of 2001, filed by Senators Tulfo, Gatchalian, and Villanueva, and Senate Bill 487 the Energy Regulatory Commission Governance Act by Senator Gatchalian.
I know it's a complex law, and given the amount of time we have before Congress goes on break in February. Everyone has told me that there's not enough time to completely amend EPIRA. So, what we will do to ensure that we do have time to amend some substantive provisions is to focus on amending the provisions that affect the ERC.
What I'd like to do for an orderly flow of our discussion is to ask everyone, we're focusing on ERC, and if your particular agency that you represent does not have any direct, specific contributions to that discussion, then you still have the floor. You can just quickly summarize general concerns you have on EPIRA.
My general rule in all my hearings is don't read your position papers to me. That's my job to read the position papers when I'm on my own time. During this hearing, you just summarize these concerns, point out what is the most important. It is fine to really express your grave concerns about the issues at hand, but don't read the position paper to me. Just tell me it's there, and I will take care of reading that myself. Yeah, so that's our objective for today.
For the sake of the public that can watch us, our goal, of course, is energy security. Our goal is that people have access to electricity in a reliable manner and not in intermittent energy. And we need our regulatory bodies to be on the ball, to be able to react quickly and not 3 years later and not 5 years later.
I am new to this. Most of you have been here longer than me, but I know enough to know that this contributes to the problem, that our regulatory bodies are not able to efficiently resolve pending approvals that are with them. They are not able to address concerns that are being raised. So that's what our goal is in the long-run. I know you have had initial hearings in the House. I have a copy of the working draft of the House. It's not officially part of the bills because it's not a bill. It's a working draft of the House. But I think most of you are involved in that process, are aware of what these are. So we're not bound by that. This is a totally separate hearing for those who are not familiar with how the Senate and House hearings go. Totally separate, but in the interest of being efficient, we are mindful of the progress that you have all made in the House discussions. We're not bound by it, but we are mindful of it. I trust the expertise of our technical people. That is not my area of expertise. My expertise is drafting laws. So I will be listening to you. I have an open mind about what needs to be done.
Okay. So very quickly, some administrative matters. I'm very lenient in my hearings. You can stand up to stretch your legs. You can go to the restroom. You can eat. You can drink. I'm happy to know that, well, at least not to see any PET bottles. The Senate is trying to be as sustainable as possible. If you need more water, we have pages where you can get up. But let's try to be mindful of sustainability. And when food is served, feel free to eat. What else? That's it?
Okay. As I've said, I would like the discussion to focus on strengthening ERC. But, again, if you have other comments, this is not a line-by-line of the bill because we don't have a working draft officially. Just give your comments and say there are other concerns that you want to address. There are time limits for each speaker. And this is not the only hearing we're going to have. So don't be worried that you won't be able to say everything you want to say. A lot of the discussions also happen outside of the hearing room. So this is just officially so that your agency can make known your position on these issues. Okay. So we'll start with DOE, followed by ERC, and then NEA. So for DOE, is it you, USec. Sharon? Yes. Okay. So you and ERC have ten minutes each, and then everybody else has five. And if you have nothing to say about ERC, then you can limit your statements for now, and we can proceed to discussions that focus on the ERC.
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