Meralco seeking refund from suppliers

Manila Bulletin 
By Myrna M. Velasco 
Published: August 30, 2013 
Distribution utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has been directed to file petitions with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) against four power generation companies to press them for a refund P4.663 billion worth of line loss charges to its customers.
These are the successor generation companies (SGCs) to the privatized assets of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) which had been established in the ERC ruling to be in charge of roughly half of the refund due to line loss rentals arising from the transition supply contract (TSC) of then National Power Corporation and Meralco. PSALM is NPC’s transferee-company.
The regulatory body specified that Meralco will need to file petitions for dispute resolution against the specified SGCs within a prescribed period of 15 days from receipt of the ERC ruling, otherwise, “it shall be the one liable to refund the subject amount to its customers.”
Two of the country’s biggest power generators – Aboitiz and San Miguel Energy Groups – will be petitioned to refund aggregate P3.532 billion, which account for line loss charges attributed to their sold volumes, including those channeled through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Masinloc Power Partners Ltd. Co. of US firm AES Corporation was also levied “pay back” amount of P865.825 million; and P265.543 million from Sem-Calaca Power Corporation of the Consunji group.
For the Aboitiz group, its calculated refunds will be coming from AP Renewables Inc. (APRI) at P404.426 million; and Therma Luzon Inc. for the Pagbilao plant at P936.733 million.
San Miguel, on one hand, was enforced heftier refunds of P1.853 billion for line loss rentals due to its subsidiary South Premiere Power Corporation, the independent power producer administrator (IPPA) for the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan natural gas-fired power facility.
Payback to Meralco customers amounting to P337.685 million had also been enforced against San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC), the IPPA of the 1,000MW Sual coal-fired plant in Pangasinan.
The expected refunds from the private power generators form part of the P9.839 billion that must be paid back to Meralco customers on the alleged “double charging” for line loss rentals for the TSC capacities as reckoned with the volumes traded via the electricity spot market.
The bigger ‘pay back’ of P5.176 billion, plus additional amount accruing “from August 2012 until the actual cessation of the collection of the 2.98% line loss charges from TOU (time-of-use) rates”, will be coming from NPC transferee firm PSALM, as stipulated in the ERC order.
Meanwhile, for the Ilijan refund of San Miguel, the total amount also covered those incurred via the Customer Choice Program (CCP) previously enforced by NPC; as well as on the offer of discounted rates to the economic zones.
In the March 2013 ruling of the ERC, it directed NPC “to immediately implement the refund of the amount P73,944,958.55 per month until such time that the total amount of P5,176,147,098.73 is fully refunded to Meralco.”
For the dispute resolution propounded for SMC subsidiary SPPC, the ERC noted that the initial refund hovered at P705.952 million, but additional invoices escalated the amount by additional P1.147 bilion; hence, the running total had been placed at P1.853 billion. (MMV)   source