Senate urged to approve natural gas development bill

Two members of the House of Representatives on Monday urged the Senate to approve the proposed Philippine Downstream Natural Gas Industry (PDNGI) Development Act to ensure sufficient power supply in the country.

Albay Representative Joey Salceda and Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco made the call in a joint statement, saying that the pending measure is highly identical to the House version under House Bill 8456 passed in August 2023.

"It is a LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council) priority, so I hope the Senate acts on it and we enact it before the midterm [elections]," said Salceda, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means. 

"The base version of the Senate bill under deliberation is the House version, so more or less, I expect no major differences once it gets out of committee and plenary," he added.
 
Salceda, one of the bill's authors, said the measure is crucial for the country since natural gas produces 32-40% less emission than coal when used for power generation.

"It could help the transition away from coal as we wait for renewables to become cheaper and more dependable as baseload. We can't just be an importer and not have a regulatory regime or complementary infrastructure after importation. We need this law," Salceda said.

Salceda also said that while methane emissions is a key issue for natural gas, there are ways to get rid of it through the whole value-chain.

"The bill’s enactment into law would sharply reduce Philippine dependence on imported fuel," he said.

Velasco, for his part, said the pending legislation will promote the role of natural gas as a safe, environment-friendly, efficient and cost-effective source of energy.

"The lack of clear, comprehensive and integrated policies on the natural gas industry is detrimental to the thrust of the Department of Energy (DOE) to attract foreign investors to our natural gas potentials or importation or transmission of the same,” said Velasco, House energy committee chair and also one of the authors of the measure.

House Bill 8456 tasks the DOE as the lead agency in the implementation of the measure, including regulation of construction and operation of natural gas pipelines and other facilities for the transmission and supply of natural gas.

The bill also mandates the state-run Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) as the sole regulatory authority for setting rates and other terms covering natural gas supply.

The Senate’s version of the measure, Senate Bill 2247, which is authored by Senator Raffy Tulfo, is still under review by a technical working group. —Llanesca T. Panti/KBK, GMA Integrated News