By Danessa O. Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated December 18, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Energy
Regulatory Commission (ERC) is targeting to come out with a decision by
mid-2016 on whether the 12 power players withheld power supply in December 2013
which resulted in record high increase in electricity rates.
The ERC assigned the cases the
Office of the Solictor General (OSG) for swift decision-making on the market
collusion probe, ERC chairman Jose Vicente Salazar told reporters in a briefing
late Wednesday.
The case was transferred from the
commission’s Office of the General Counsel and Secretariat (OGCS) to allow for
an independent prosecution on the issue, he noted.
“Solicitors will conduct prosecution
and they will present evidence before us. The other side can present
controverting evidence. We can consolidate all these,” Salazar said.
“By mid of next year, we will finish
the probe on the administrative component, the violation of the
anti-competitive behavior visions of the Constitution and of our laws,” Salazar
said.
The commission restarted the probe
with pre-hearing conferences in August this year, following the appointment of
former Justice Undersecretary Jose Vicente Salazar as chairman of the ERC until
July 10, 2022.
In its report released last June,
the ERC’s Investigating Unit (IU) said 12 power players withheld power supply,
considered an anti-competitive behavior, during the December 2013 period.
These 12 power players are state-run
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), Pan-Asia Energy
Holdings, ThermaMobile (TMO), CIP II Power Corp., Trans-Asia Power Corp., 1590
Bauang, AP Renewables, Udenna Management Resources Corp., Strategic Power,
GNPower, SEM-Calaca and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
During that time, Meralco’s
generation charge surged to P9.10 per kilowatt-hour in December 2013 and to
P10.23 per kwh in January 2014.
The Supreme Court then stopped
Meralco in charging the record-high power rates to its customers.
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