Solon links ERC exec suicide to Meralco 'midnight deals'

A party-list congressman on Monday urged the House energy committee to investigate the alleged "midnight deals" between the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and power generation companies affiliated with the Manila Electric Company (Meralco), which supposedly resulted in the suicide of ERC Director Francisco Villa earlier this month.

In House Resolution No. 566, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate criticized the ERC for extending an order that allowed all distribution companies to conduct a competitive selection process (CSP) in power supply procurement.

Zarate said the deadline was originally set for November 6, 2015 but was "mysteriously" moved to April 30, 2016.

With the extension, Meralco – the largest power distribution company – ended up securing 20-year power supply agreements with seven generation companies, which Zarate considered "midnight deals" for having been signed only four days before the "new [and] generous" deadline set by the ERC.

"This alleged questionable and corruption-laden transactions within the ERC even resulted in the unfortunate death of ERC Director Francisco Villa on November 9, 2016, who supposedly left hand-written suicide notes narrating the pressures he received to approve anomalous transactions," Zarate noted in his resolution.

Villa, the brother of journalist Rosario Sofia "Chari" Villa, committed suicide inside his house in Parañaque due to alleged corruption in the ERC.

The ERC director reportedly revealed that he was being pressured to approve ERC procurement contracts and hire consultants without proper bidding and procedure.

In his resolution, Zarate claimed the "midnight deals" would result in damages against power consumers to the tune of P12.44 billion annually.

The lawmaker claimed that historical data showed that Meralco pays its sister generators up to 20 percent (P1.00 per kWh) higher rates compared to unrelated generators, and, the difference between the rates from competitive bidding and self-negotiated rates at P0.50 per kWh.

"Like in the 2013 Malampaya shutdown, overburdened Meralco consumers will again be forced to shoulder very atrocious power rates as a result of the betrayal, ineptness and irregularities of no less than the regulator, which professes to protect the consumers," Zarate's resolution read.

The Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas filed on November 8 a petition with the Supreme Court to stop Meralco from securing regulatory approval for the power supply deals with the seven generation firms.

The petition also urged the high court to nullify the ERC resolution.

Zarate feared that the "sudden plant outages" on November 15 – that resulted in power interruptions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces – could be another "scheme to justify another power rate hike and create a scenario that there is a need for more PSAs sans any bidding." — VDS, GMA News