Consumer coalition asks CA to review DOE resolutions on 2022 petition

A consumer coalition on Monday filed a petition before the Court of Appeals seeking a review and nullification of resolutions issued by the Department of Energy (DOE).

In a 74-page petition for certiorari, the Power for People Coalition (P4P) asked the appellate court to declare null and void two resolutions of the DOE which denied their petition in April 2022 due to lack of jurisdiction.

According to the petitioners, the DOE committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to a lack of excess of jurisdiction in denying the petition considering that it had jurisdiction over the case.

“The rule-making power by an administrative agency inherently includes the power to amend the rule. Corollary to this, it is also within the power of an administrative agency, such as the DOE, to entertain actions calling for the exercise of such agency’s mandates,” the motion read.

In their April 2022 petition, the petitioners asked the DOE to issue corrective measures on a department circular it issued in 2015.

The DOE circular mandates that all distribution utilities shall have the obligation to supply electricity in the least cost manner to their captive market through a competitive selection process (CSP).

However, the circular was not made applicable to power supply agreements (PSAs) with tariff rates that were already approved and/or have been applied for approval by the ERC prior to the effectivity of the 2015 DOE circular.

Due to this, the petitioners also asked the Court to issue a writ of certiorari declaring null and void the non-retroactivity clause on the 2015 DOE circular.

Further, the petitioners asked the court to ordain the application of the CSP requirement for all subsisting PSAs regardless of when the tariff rates have been approved and or applied for approval.

Respondents include the DOE and the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Atty. Luke Espiritu, the legal counsel of the P4P, said the point of a power supply agreement is to get a stable supply that protects consumers from high prices.

“The contracts that did not undergo CSP lock Mindanao consumers into years of exorbitant electricity prices. Plus, the fact that these rates are even higher than WESM illustrates how preposterously expensive they are,” Espiritu said in a statement.

Sought for comment, DOE Chief of Staff and head of Communications Andria Frago told GMA News Online that they would "have to look at these resolutions issue." — DVM, GMA Integrated News