QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE REPORT YEAR 2 Q4 (July – September 2016) AID-492-G-15-00002 26 October 2016 Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................................... 2 ACRONYMS ........................................................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................... 4 I. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES .................................................................... 6 II. SNAPSHOT OF ACTIVITIES ..................................................................................................... 7 III. PROGRAM COMPONENTS ....................................................................................................... 9 1. RESEARCH COMPONENT .......................................................................................................................... 9 2. POLICY DEVELOPMENT COMPONENT .................................................................................................. 14 3. CAPACITY BUILDING COMPONENT ...................................................................................................... 17 4. COMMUNICATIONS COMPONENT ......................................................................................................... 22 5. CROSS-CUTTING .................................................................................................................................... 25 IV. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................... 28 1. WORK PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 3 ........................................................................................................ 28 2. HUMAN RESOURCE ................................................................................................................................ 28 ANNEXES ............................................................................................................................................. 32 Annex 1 Performance Indicator Tracking Table (as of 30 September 2016) Annex 2 Photo documentation of EPDP FY2 Quarter 4 activities Annex 3 EPDP-International Food Policy Research Institute workshop program and discussion note on the research collaboration Annex 4 Minutes of the meeting with US Energy Agencies Annex 5 Exchange of letters between Congressman Lord Allan Velasco and Dr. Orville Solon (Dean of University of the Philippines - School of Economics) and EPDP’s technical comments Annex 6 Technical advisory note on the increase in biodiesel blend mandate Annex 7 Terminal report on the Training Course on Forecasting Annex 8 Terminal report on the Executive Course on Competition and Regulation in the Philippine Power Sector and session highlights Annex 9 EPDP users and visitors between 11 May 2016 to 27 September 2016 Annex 10 EPDP Newsletter Vol. 2 No.1 Annex 11 Evaluations of the lectures 2 Acronyms ADRi Alberto Del Rosario Research Institute AGMO Autonomous Group Market Operator CSP Competitive Selection Process DOE Department of Energy DTI Department of Trade and Industry DU Distribution Utilities EPDP Energy Policy and Development Program EPIRA Electric Power Industry Reform Act ERC Energy Regulatory Commission GAD Gender and Development GPH Government of the Philippines IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute IMO Independent Market Operator ManCom Management Committee Meralco Manila Electric Company NBB National Biofuels Board NEA National Electrification Administration NEDA National Economic and Development Authority NGCP National Grid Corporation of the Philippines NPC National Power Corporation PCC Philippine Competition Commission PEMC Philippine Electricity Market Corporation PITT Performance Indicator Tracking Table PSA Philippine Statistics Authority PSC Program Steering Committee SDAA Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator TAN Technical Advisory Note TDP Transmission Development Plan TOR Terms of Reference UPSE University of the Philippines - School of Economics UPSS University of the Philippines – School of Statistics USAID United States Agency for International Development VAT Value added tax WESM Wholesale Electricity Spot Market 3 Executive Summary The transition in the Philippine Administration after the May 2016 National Elections created the need to build relationships with the new set of senior Philippine Government (GPH) officials while keeping the Program’s existing commitments. With most of the first round of research studies completed and the increasing recognition of EPDP, the Program is in good stead to engage with the new senior officials in the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The Program also maximized the remaining activities in FY2 to reach out and collaborate with new and existing partners. Recognizing the unique opportunity to influence the new Administration’s policy agenda in the energy sector, EPDP shared the initial set of three-pager policy briefs and the technical advisory notes with the new Secretaries of the NEDA and the DOE. Beyond NEDA and DOE, the opportunity to directly engage both Houses of Congress has also opened up. In response to the House Committee on Energy’s request, which the University of the Philippines - School of Economics (UPSE) forwarded to EPDP, the Program provided comments on House Bill No. 2298 - “An Act Amending Paragraph (J) Section 47 of Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.” In aid of the legislative agenda, the Senate Committee of Energy and Economic Affairs also invited EPDP to discuss EPDP’s research studies. In addition, EPDP progressed the research collaboration with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the second round of its research papers to generate pieces of evidence that could support the ongoing policy discussions around many contentious and pressing energy issues. EPDP’s capacity building activities became venues to engage with new and existing GPH officials and staff and other stakeholders. The Executive Course was represented by both the executive and legislative branches of Government. It initiated candid and constructive discussion on competition and regulation as well as areas of perceived political and technical tensions. Building on the previous intensive training courses, the Training Course on Forecasting further deepened the knowledge and skills of technical staff from eight (8) agencies on Eviews, a widely-used econometrics software for forecasting. The lecture series also continue to serve as an open venue for various stakeholders to interact around specific issues, and to disseminate EPDP’s research work. Prompted by the EPDP lecture on “The Value Added Tax and Red Tape: What Contributes More to Electricity Tariffs in the Philippines,” a columnist wrote an opinion piece on the topic in Business World Online dated 15 September 2016. This study was among EPDP’s first set of research studies. UNTV’s Serbisyong Kasangbahay also interviewed Dr. Majah Ravago, EPDP Program Director, about environmentally-sound energy development as well as the country’s growth. In preparation for FY3, EPDP submitted its proposed FY3 Work Plan, taking into account the significantly reduced level of budget and human resources in the coming year. It reflects the recalibrated set of activities and prioritizes the list of unprogrammed activities. It also contained the updated Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 4 (PMEP), the Performance Indicator Reference Sheet (PIRS), and Gender Action Plan. These updated documents capture the additional indicators and the changes assessed necessary to increase their usefulness and make them more attuned to the current Program context. 5 I. Program Description and Objectives The Energy Policy and Development Program (EPDP) is a project launched in November 2014 that aims to strengthen the capacity of the Philippine government to formulate coherent and evidence-based policies and strategies for sustainable, reliable, and efficient use of energy resources and technologies. It supports the national government, in particular the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Energy (DOE), in policy analysis and formulation for the energy sector. EPDP is being implemented by the UPecon Foundation and is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). EPDP’s approach to attaining its objective involves the following key initiatives (as depicted in Figure 1) that also represent EPDP’s four components: provide the technical foundation for policy development, capacity building, and communications interventions through an energy research program. This entails setting up (i) an energy research program unit to support a mix of policy and operational research on energy and (ii) a data management and analysis unit to lay the groundwork for analysis of energy issues, as well as monitoring and evaluating the impact of energy policies. EPDP’s energy research program acts as the foundational pillar for the other components – i.e., the technical basis for policy development, capacity building, and communication interventions; provide policy development advisory, initially to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and Department of Energy (DOE)–EPDP’s core clients–including their attached