Two lawmakers and authors of a bill amending the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) called on other members of Congress to act on their proposed measure to strengthen the ban on conflict-of-interest in the power industry. Rep. Caroline Tanchay said the EPIRA law had allowed so-called cross-ownership among players in the power industry, but this has been prone to abuse. Tanchay co-authored House Bill No.
174 or the proposed “Act Prohibiting Cross Ownership Among Distribution Utilities and Generation Companies”, with Rep. Rodante Marcoleta. Both Tanchay and Marcoleta belong to the SAGIP Party-list. It seeks to amend Section 45 of the EPIRA which allowed cross-ownership of distribution and generation facilities in the power sector. The provision, in its current version, allows distribution utilities to source up to 50 percent of its electric supply from an “associated fir