LABOR leader Leody De Guzman and the Power for People Coalition (P4P) yesterday filed a petition for intervention before the Court of Appeals seeking to lift the writ of preliminary injunction it issued last month indefinitely suspending the power supply agreement (PSA) between South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC) and utility firm Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
SPPC is a unit of the SMC Global Power Holding Corporation of conglomerate San Miguel Corporation (SMC).
The CA injunction was an offshoot of the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to turn down the petition filed by SPPC and Meralco for price adjustments to buffer the impact of the combined P5.2 billion losses they incurred from January to May 2022 due to the unprecedented spike in fuel prices caused by the war in Ukraine and the global energy crunch.
In asking the appellate court to allow them to intervene, the petitioners argued they are part of the more than 7.5 million customers of Meralco who would be affected by any increase in the cost of electricity provided by the utility firm.
“Respondent-intervenors will ultimately carry the burden of paying higher rates of electricity as a result of the issuance of a temporary restraining order, writ of preliminary injunction, temporary suspension of the subject power supply agreements and or the nullification of the assailed ERC order,” part of the 64-page petition said.
The PSAs concerned are fixed price, meaning SMC absorbs the risk of changes in fuel prices instead of consumers.
This mechanism, according to petitioners, is credited for the lower prices of electricity in the Meralco franchise area, compared to those in areas not protected by fixed-price PSAs.
In seeking to hike the generation charge, the said companies cited the increase in coal and natural gas prices that it utilized to produce electricity.
But the ERC junked their plea, arguing that the agreed upon price in the PSAs is fixed and the grounds cited by the said companies were not among the exceptions that would allow it to grant the price adjustment.
De Guzman said they have no other recourse but to intervene in the case to protect the interest of consumers who will have to pay any increase in electricity costs.
“Pakinggan ang nagbabayad, hindi ang kumikita. Ang nag-uusap lang dito ay ang pamahalaan, ang nagbebenta ng kuryente, at ang nag-susuplay ng kuryente. Parang taya sa isang kainan ang konsyumer na di nila kaya pigilin ang mga kumakain kung ano pwedeng kunin. Hindi tama ito, at kaya dumudulog kami sa CA para baguhin ang ganitong sitwasyon (They should listen to the customers. It seems it is only the government, the power suppliers and sellers who are the ones talking. This is not right that’s why we are appealing to the CA to change this situation),” he said.
De Guzman, who leads the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino, one of the convenors of the P4P Coalition, said the public will feel the brunt of any increase in electricity costs if the appellate court will cancel the PSAs with Meralco.
