Rep. Colmenares claims Meralco didn't have basis for a rate hike

A lawmaker from the Makabayan bloc said on Wednesday the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) cannot implement its proposed electricity rate increase since it failed to present a solid defense when it argued its case before the Supreme Court on Tuesday. 

 

Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said Meralco’s failure to justify the need for a rate increase before the Supreme Court justices meant the company knew it only has itself to blame for buying electricity at higher prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) when the Malampaya gas-to-power platform went on maintenance shutdown late last year.

 

“Yung P4.15 [per kilowatt hour] na dagdag singil, it's already gone. Hindi na nila na-argue sufficiently sa SC na it should still be passed through,” he said.

 

Meralco on Tuesday told the Supreme Court it tried everything to soften the impact of higher electricity rates when power suppliers went on maintenance shutdown almost at the same time.

 

Victor Lazatin, legal counsel for Meralco, said the power distributor was “proactive” in seeking and undertaking mitigating measures to cushion the impact of the scheduled shutdowns.

 

Colmenares, however, said Meralco should have prepared in advance to buy cheaper electricity from other power generators when the Malampaya platform closed down in November instead of buying power at the WESM.

 

The power distributor earlier said a “confluence of events” forced it to buy electricity at the WESM at a higher price.

 

Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate called Meralco’s threat of rotational blackouts as “a clear blackmail” since it was the company’s fault that it was unable to collect the generation charge for electricity in full from its customers last December.

 

“The statement of Meralco about imposing brownouts is a clear black mail... [against] the consumers dahil ang ground nila ay yung TRO, but it was pointed out by the justices na mali 'yung interpretation nila sa TRO. Kasalanan nila kung mali ang pagka-intepret nila doon. Hindi dapat mga consumers ang ang mag-suffer nito,” he said.

 

Meralco's legal counsel told the SC en banc that the power distributor opted “to err on the side of caution” by freezing its generation charge (GC) in December 2013 and January 2014 on a par with the November 2013 level. 

 

Their exercise of caution, Meralco's counsel explained, resulted in the accumulation of about P18 billion in liabilities to power generation companies – or P9 billion a month in December and in January.

 

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, however, said the Supreme Court's December 23, 2013 temporary restraining order stops the collection of the generation charge but only for what was incurred in November. 

 

Colmenares said the Makabayan bloc is currently studying the filing of charges against Meralco for colluding with other power industry players to increase electricity prices. – VS, GMA News