WHEREAS, Section 37 of Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) provides that, in addition to its existing powers, the DOE is hereby mandated to supervise the restructuring of the electricity industry and exercise such other powers as may be necessary or incidental to the objectives of EPIRA;

WHEREAS, Republic Act (RA) No. 7638 or the "Department of Energy Act of 1992" established, among others, the power and function of the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish and administer programs for the exploration, transportation, marketing, distribution, utilization, conservation, stockpiling, and storage of energy resources of all forms, whether conventional or non-conventional;