by Lenie Lectura - July 15, 2016
THE Philippine Electricity Market
Corp. (PEMC) has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to review a court decision
that junked its appeal to impose a P235-million fine against a subsidiary of
Aboitiz Power Corp.
In a disclosure to the stock
exchange, AboitizPower said on Friday the PEMC filed with the SC a Petition for
Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rule of Court.
“A copy of the petition was received
by TMO [Therma Mobile Inc.] through its counsel on July 13, 2016. TMO is
still awaiting orders from the Supreme Court relative to the filed petition,”
AboitizPower said.
PEMC’s filing before the SC comes
after the Court of Appeals (CA) upheld in December last year the April 2015
decision of the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 157.
PEMC later filed a motion for
reconsideration with the CA, but the latter denied it on April 22.
When sought for comment, PEMC
President Melinda Ocampo refused to answer media questions, saying she “may be
subjected to subjudece.”
In January AboitizPower said
it was willing to continue negotiations with PEMC to resolve their
dispute. PEMC said TMO withheld capacity during the November and December 2013
supply period and imposed financial penalties. TMO argued it did not
withhold any capacity, as it was physically impossible for TMO to transmit more
than 100 megawatts (MW) to the Manila Electric Co.
Although TMO’s rated capacity is 234
MW, it could only safely, reliably and consistently deliver 100 MW during the
period under investigation because of the thermal limitations of its
transmission lines and the technical and mechanical constraints of its
generating units, the company said.
Aside from TMO, PEMC also imposed
penalties against the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp.
(PSALM) and PanAsia Energy Inc. for the same reasons
Under the must-offer rule,
generation companies registered in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market
(WESM) must declare and offer the maximum generating capacities of their
power facilities in the spot market.
Aside from PSALM, TMO and PanAsia,
there were other power producers that violated the WESM rule, but penalties
were not meted out against them.
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