ABSTRACT
In the utilities sector, regulations are used to level the playing field for smaller firms and protect the welfare of consumers. Although there has been a trend away from heavy-handed control of industry and toward minimising regulation to let competition flourish, governments still intervene to protect the welfare of the public. The Philippine electricity industry is an example of where a command-and-control regime has been replaced by a regulatory system that is more facilitative of competition but where the government continues to set rates and prescribe standards of service.
