Section 8Sec./Art. 8

Competitive Selection Process for Electrification and Service of DOE Declared Unserved and Underserved Areas by Microgrid System Providers. The DOE shall declare unserved and underserved areas for electrification and service by MGSPs pursuant to Section 12 of this Act. The DOE declared unserved and underserved areas shall be subjected to CSP. All CSPs shall:

(a) Prioritize low-cost, indigenous, renewable, and environment-friendly sources of energy;

(b) Be conducted based on the list of DOE declared unserved and underserved areas, taking into account each DUs LTER and DDP in relation to the NTER: Provided, That the schedule shall be published and posted on the ERC and DOE websites not later than September of every year; and

(c) Be simple, uniform, streamlines, and transparent: Provided, That the entire procedure from pre-qualification of MGSPs until the submission to the ERC of the awarded contract shall be no longer than ninety (90) calendar days after all the published requirements are completely submitted: Provided, further, That the CSP may be conducted using a secure electronic portal.

A DUs MGSP may tender a lower offer in every CSP it participates in within its franchise area, unless otherwise provided in Section 17 of this Act, within seven (7) calendar days from the announcement of the winning MGSP in the CSP: Provided, That such tender shall be submitted to the DOE or its authorized entity, whichever is applicable, and the winning MGSP.

The award by the DOE or its authorized entity to the MGSP, the execution of the MSC, and the filing of a complete application with the ERC shall comprise the provisional authority of the MGSP to start collection of the rate specified in the award, the MSC, and the application upon the start of the MGSPs operation: Provided, That the ERC shall schedule and conduct a hearing therein within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of the complete application, upon publication and notice to all affected parties: Provided, further, That the final decision shall be issued within one hundred thirty-five (135) calendar days from receipt of the complete application.

In the event that there are no participants or there is no awarded MGSP in the CSP for a particular unserved or underserved area, the NPC shall perform its missionary electrification mandate in the said area until an MGSP takes part or is awarded in the next CSP.