The Filipinos are no stranger to brownouts or power outages. A power crisis in the 1990s prompted the reform in the electric power industry. This reform was enacted through the Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA (Republic Act No. 9136) on 08 June 2001. EPIRA’s immediate goals are to electrify the whole country, provide cheap and good quality service, and protect the public’s interests. In the long-term, it is expected that through electrification, the national economy will be strengthened.

More than ten years after its enactment, a review on its effectiveness in terms on the achievement of its goals is, but, apt.