THE Senate is in the process of crafting a law creating an on-line portal, to be known as a “virtual one-stop shop”, that would fast-track putting up new power-generation facilities to ensure steady supply of electricity.
Expected to be submitted for plenary deliberations when Congress reconvenes on May 2, Senate Bill 1286 aims to reduce the barriers to entry of additional power plants by providing a “streamlined application process for new power generation projects”.
Sponsored by Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian, energy committee chairman, the bill intends to increase existing power-supply capacity by attracting more power-generation developers and fast-tracking approval of power generation projects.
The proposed law aims to “create certainty” for prospective power-generation developers insofar as the application process is concerned, he said.
As envisioned by proponents, the virtual one-stop shop is where generation companies can submit all documentary requirements required by different government agencies for an application for a power-generation project, monitor and inquire about the status of all ongoing applications, pay all appropriate fees and taxes, be informed of actions of government agencies on all submitted documentary requirements and applications, as well as “ventilate complaints concerning inaction on submitted documentary requirements and applications”.
Gatchalian’s bill, once enacted into law, will pave the way for the creation of an Interagency Technical Working Group (IATWG) composed of all government agencies involved in the permitting process for power- generation projects.
He explains in the bill that the IATWG will work together to streamline the entire permitting process for power-generation projects.
“One way to do so is to review the maximum number of days to process documentary requirements for each agency, and to impose a maximum allowable number of days for such processing,” the senator suggested.
The bill also provides for administrative offenses and penalties for “willful refusal to participate in the virtual one stop shop, willful acts which delay the operationalization of the virtual one-stop shop, and failure to comply with the mandated processing time of applications for power generation projects.”
1 comment
This IATWG is your solution? Another layer of bureaucracy?
Those concerned energy agencies will expedite faster if you threaten to cut their budget or abolish their office for being obstructionist, irrelevant and a wasteful drain of taxpayers money.