Defer price hikes, Palace appeals to power firms

Malacañang on Friday appealed to power companies to defer any plans of increasing its rates in light of the calamities which recently beset the country.

 

"So iyan naman po ang panawagan natin sa kanila ... baka naman maaaring sa panahon na ito na nagre-rebuild at nagre-rehabilitate pa tayo ay iiwasan nila iyong mga hakbang na magdadagdag pa sa pinapasang paghihirap ng ating mga kababayan," Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said at a press conference.

 

Last Tuesday, the Manile Electric Co.(Meralco) said consumers may see electricity rates spike by as much as P2 to P3 kilowatt per hour (kWh) this month on account of a month-long maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas line and forced outage of other major power plants in Luzon.

 

On Thursday, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said Meralco may unilaterally implement the rate increase because their hike computation is based on a formula that they had pre-approved.

 

But Coloma said firms, including Meralco, may want to think of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) and defer any hike.

 

"[Iyang CSR] ay maaaring ipakita nila sa panahon ng kalamidad hindi lamang sa pamamagitan ng pagbigay ng relief goods o sa pagpapadala ng mga volunteer pero doon sa binabanggit ninyo na exercising sensitivity to the plight of the common people o maybe who are carrying heavy burden of loss of life, injury to their family members and the herculean task of having to rebuild their homes and their lives," he said.

 

"Mas mainam siguro kung ito ay gagawin nila... of their own volition and voluntarily dahil maaari naman nilang gawin yan bilang mga responsible corporate citizens," he added.

 

The Palace official, meanwhile, said they will "protect the public from any unreasonable rate adjustments" and that they will "hold public utility firms accountable by enforcing appropriate sanctions in case of apparent abuse."

 

"We do not and will not condone abuses of these companies. Hindi po rin natin sinasabi na abusado sila. Ang atin pong nais na makita ay ang pagkilos nila ay palaging naaayon sa batas," he said. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ, GMA News