The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has formally asked the Court of Appeals (CA) to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued in favor of South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) and to deny the generation company’s application for a writ of preliminary injunction (WPI).
In its motion dated Dec. 19, 2022, Meralco cited the disruption of basic and essential services being rendered by SPPC contrary to the objective of the TRO and to the detriment of customers served by the power distributor.
The TRO led to the cessation of 670 megawatts of power supply that SPPC was obligated to deliver under its power supply agreement (PSA) which has a lower rate compared to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and the Emergency Power Supply Agreement where Meralco currently sources the replacement power.
Meralco added the CA “should lift the TRO and direct the parties to continuously implement the PSA in order to bring back the scenario that would serve and protect the public from the unnecessary burden of increased electricity costs.”
The company said its move is also based under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 which expressly states that the power supply sector is a business affected by public interest wherein SPPC’s rights and interests “must give way to serve a higher end for the interest of the public.”
Meralco assured it is exhausting all measures to continue delivering sufficient, reliable and least cost power to its 7.6 million customers.
