Business World Online
Posted on February 04, 2014 11:56:47 PM
MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) yesterday defended a controversial P4.15 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) rate hike, warning of blackouts and a loss of investor confidence if the increase is disallowed.
“Dire consequences to the economy will be brought about by rotating blackouts, not to mention the likely loss of investors’ confidence due to perceived instability of our laws and regulatory rules,” Meralco lawyer Victor P. Lazatin claimed as oral arguments resumed at the Supreme Court.
Mr. Lazatin said the energy supply chain could be disrupted, with unpaid suppliers halting fuel deliveries to generating companies that in turn will stop selling power to the distribution utility. With the summer months nearing, the generation charge can be expected to rise to P6.11-7.95/kWh, he added, not kept at the P5.67/kWh under a 60-day restraining order.
He reiterated that the utility does not profit from the “pass-through” generation charge, noting: “Petitioners have no issue with Meralco’s distribution charge which has not changed. And yet Meralco finds itself in the vortex of the controversy, which should have been properly a case between the petitioners and the gencos.”
Retired Associate Justice Florentino P. Feliciano, also a lawyer for Meralco, questioned why party-list legislators and consumer groups went directly to the Supreme Court instead of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Associate Justice Mario Victor F. Leonen clarified that the restraining order only covered the P4.15/kWh increase, not future adjustments. Mr. Lazatin said he would file a motion seeking to formalize the limits of the court’s stay order, which is scheduled to expire before the end of the month.
“The court is not insensitive to the time element. This court is doing its best to address the legal questions,” Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P. A. Sereno said.
Meralco on Monday announced that the generation charge for February had been cut to P5.54/kWh, with the supply disruptions behind the P4.14/kWh increase having been resolved.
Oral arguments will continue on February 11, with the Department of Energy and ERC set to present their positions.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld. source
Mr. Lazatin said the energy supply chain could be disrupted, with unpaid suppliers halting fuel deliveries to generating companies that in turn will stop selling power to the distribution utility. With the summer months nearing, the generation charge can be expected to rise to P6.11-7.95/kWh, he added, not kept at the P5.67/kWh under a 60-day restraining order.
He reiterated that the utility does not profit from the “pass-through” generation charge, noting: “Petitioners have no issue with Meralco’s distribution charge which has not changed. And yet Meralco finds itself in the vortex of the controversy, which should have been properly a case between the petitioners and the gencos.”
Retired Associate Justice Florentino P. Feliciano, also a lawyer for Meralco, questioned why party-list legislators and consumer groups went directly to the Supreme Court instead of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Associate Justice Mario Victor F. Leonen clarified that the restraining order only covered the P4.15/kWh increase, not future adjustments. Mr. Lazatin said he would file a motion seeking to formalize the limits of the court’s stay order, which is scheduled to expire before the end of the month.
“The court is not insensitive to the time element. This court is doing its best to address the legal questions,” Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes P. A. Sereno said.
Meralco on Monday announced that the generation charge for February had been cut to P5.54/kWh, with the supply disruptions behind the P4.14/kWh increase having been resolved.
Oral arguments will continue on February 11, with the Department of Energy and ERC set to present their positions.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld. source
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