Senator Win Gatchalian said the absence of a competitive bidding mechanism for procuring indigenous natural gas under a proposed measure to develop the local natural gas industry could lead to higher energy prices to the detriment of consumer interest.

“Competitive bidding serves as a means to discover the lowest possible price, promoting efficiency among investors and ensuring that consumers benefit from the most affordable rates. Without this essential process, there is no concrete assurance that consumers will pay the lowest price, and investors will render the most efficient service,” Gatchalian said as he explained his “No” vote for the proposed Philippine Natural Gas Industry which recently went through third and final reading.

Gatchalian explained that competitive bidding serves as a means to discover the lowest possible price, promoting efficiency among investors and ensuring that consumers benefit from the most affordable rates. Without this essential process, there is no concrete assurance that consumers will pay the lowest prices and investors will render the most efficient service. Section 23 of the proposed measure gives priority to indigenous natural gas and foregoes the competitive bidding process.

If this bill is passed, consumers will be required to pay for indigenous gas even when it is more expensive than imported gas, he said.

For example, Meralco’s latest Competitive Selection Process results show that the levelized cost of electricity using imported gas is P7.07 per kilowatt hour, while a blend of indigenous and imported gas costs P8.45 per kilowatt hour. This means, based on the example, an average household consuming 200 kilowatt hours per month will pay an additional P276, when they could have paid less, said Gatchalian, the vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Energy.

Gatchalian emphasized he is not against promoting the development of the natural gas industry and prioritizing indigenous natural gas. ”I just want to introduce safeguards through competitive bidding and without taking away prioritization of indigenous gas whenever prices are equal or lower than imported natural gas. Nangangamba tayo na hindi magiging maganda ang epekto nito sa mga konsumers,” he said.