House adopts Senate natgas bill

THE House of Representatives has adopted on Wednesday the Senate’s version of a measure seeking to develop an indigenous natural gas (natgas) industry amid government efforts to transition toward the wider adoption of renewable energy sources.

Congressmen agreed to a proposal to adopt Senate Bill (SB) No. 2793 during plenary, citing that authors of House Bill (HB) No. 8456 concurred with the version of their senate counterparts.

Senators on Monday approved their version of the natural gas industry development bill, while HB No. 8456 was passed in Aug. 2023.

Under the bill, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is tasked with keeping track of the government’s share of revenue related to the production of indigenous natural gas sold to power plants.

Downstream natural gas industry projects, as certified by the Department of Energy, will also be entitled to a value-added tax exemption on the purchase and sale of indigenous gas attributed to aggregated fuel, as authorized by the ERC. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio