ERC told to toughen on Meralco

Manila Standard Today
By Joyce Pangco Panares | Apr. 11, 2014 at 12:01am

MALACAÑANG on Thursday ordered the Energy Regulatory Commission to put more teeth in its regulatory powers after Manila Electric Co. reported it expected a lower consolidated core income for the first quarter this year compared with the P4 billion it posted in the same period last year.

“There’s a general authority for the ERC to look into the reasonability of charges,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said.

“To know this, there has to be an analysis of relevant financial and operational data.”

Asked if the ERC should audit Meralco’s books, Coloma said: “ERC should perform its functions mandated by law.”

“As the regulator of the power industry, the ERC has the inherent power and authority to do what is needed to promote the public interest. The ERC should put teeth to their enforcement power.”

On Tuesday, Manila Electric Co. claimed consumers should expect an increase of P0.89 per kilowatt in their April bills because of higher generation costs, higher power demand and tight supply as a result of the shutdown of some power plants.

The power plants that Meralco said were on scheduled maintenance shutdown included GN Power-1, Calaca-2, Sta. Rita Unit 40, Masinloc-1 and Ilijan-1, while those that underwent emergency shutdowns included the Sta. Rita Unit 20, Calaca-1, Masinloc-2 and GN Power-2.

Malaya-1 aside, Sual-2 of San Miguel Energy is said to be also operating at limited capacity.

On Wednesday, Malacañang assured the public that there will be ample power supply during the summer season, but Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said consumers may have to pay more for their electricity.

Coloma said the government expected the two state-owned Malaya plants to return to normal operations in two weeks after undergoing repair and maintenance.

“The Malaya plants have been commissioned since March,” Coloma said.

“Presently, only Malaya 2 is operational due to ongoing repair and maintenance work on Malaya 1, which is expected to return on-line within two weeks.” source