Meralco, other power firms face SC to defend rate hike

By Tetch Torres-Tupas 
INQUIRER
12:19 pm | Tuesday, January 21st, 2014

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Manila Electric Company, power suppliers, the government regulators will face the Supreme Court to justify the validity record high P4.15 per kilowatt hour rate increase.

Set to face the justices are lawyers of Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women’s Party, Act Teachers Partylist and Kabataan Partylist  Carlos Isagani Zarate and Neri Colmenares while lawyer Leonard DeVera will argue on behalf of the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore)

They will be given 30 minutes to present their arguments based on the eight-point guidelines issued by the high court last week.

The counsels for petitioners will face interpellation by members of the high court after they have presented their argument.

Meralco’s lawyers, led by retired high court Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura, will be given 40 minutes to present their defense.

On the other hand, the Office of the Solicitor General that represents the Department of Energy (DOE) and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), will explain its approval of the power rate hike within 30 minutes.

Other parties led by Anakpawis partylist  will have 30 minutes to present their arguments to be followed by other respondents, including the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC).

The high court told petitioners and respondents to argue on whether the ERC violated the consumers’ right to due process and a provision in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) requiring it to protect the public from market abuse; whether or not the amendment to Section 4(e), Rule 3 of the EPIRA law’s Implementing Rules and Regulations which allows automatic rate adjustments or increases to recover generation cost violates due process of law, and whether or not the ERC resolution allowing rate adjustments proposed by Meralco last Dec. 9 is valid.

They are also expected to tackle whether the 60-day temporary restraining order issued against Meralco should be lifted and if refund can be granted.

The high court had directed Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla, ERC chair Zenaida Ducut and PEMC president Melinda Ocampo to attend the hearing.  source