The National Electrification Administration (NEA) requested anew the services of educators from the University of the Philippines (UP) to provide competency training and certification programs in electric power distribution system engineering.
This was formalized in a seven-page Memorandum of Agreement (MOA ) executed by NEA Administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda and UP Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan II.
A ceremonial signing of the MOU was held Thursday, 18 January 2024, at the NEA Diliman, Quezon City. UP Vice Chancellor Jerwin Agpaoa signed the document on behalf of Vistan. The state university also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NEA for a related project.
Under the MOA, both organizations will jointly undertake research, training and technical advisory programs within the frameworks of Republic Act (RA) No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) and RA No. 10531 or the NEA Reform Act of 2013.
This collaboration intends to better prepare electric cooperatives (ECs) in competing and operating under a deregulated electricity market, as well as strengthen their technical capability and financial viability.
UP, through its National Engineering Center (NEC), will work with the NEA-EC Training Institute (NETI) in facilitating the competency training and certification program to develop and advance the skills of electric co-op engineers and executives in the following areas:
- Distribution system analysis, planning and design for compliance with the Philippine Grid and Distribution Codes;
- Distribution system operation and maintenance, and automation and control for safety, reliability, and efficiency;
- Distribution utility capital expenditures (CapEx) and operational expenses (OpEx) planning, economics, ratemaking, and tariff design;
- Power supply planning, procurement, contracting, and aggregation;
- Electricity trading under WESM;
- Retail electricity supply under the Retail Competition and Open Access policy;
- Organizational skills, financial planning, and management;
- Other areas that may be identified during the conduct of the program.
“The NEA shall institutionalize the Competency Training and Certification Program for Distribution Utility Board of Directors, Managers and Engineers in human resource development programs and/or other relevant programs of NEA and the ECs,” the MOA read.
The renewed partnership will therefore require a series of seminars and trainings for the ECs’ board of directors and managers in terms of policy- and decision-making to broaden the perspective of the electricity market under the EPIRA and other laws.
NEA Deputy Administrator for EC Management Services Atty. Omar Mayo, UP-NEC Executive Director and College of Engineering Dean Dr. Maria Antonia Tanchuling, and UP Electrical and Electronics Engineering Director Dr. Lew Andrew Tria also signed the MOA as witnesses. ###
