Napocor willing to resume talks with Meralco

The National Power Corp. is willing to resume negotiations with the Manila Electric Co., its biggest customer and the country’s largest distributor, and strike a "win-win solution" to the recent stand-off regarding their 10-year power supply agreement.

Napocor officer-in-charge Roland S. Quilala said the power firm is ready to sit down anew for another round of talks with Meralco to put a stop on what appears to be an apparent "media war" between the two power companies.

"Only Napocor and Meralco can solve whatever differences in interpretation they may have on the 10-year contract. Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez is willing to help us come up with a good compromise on issues arising from the 10-year power sales agreement," he added.

"We are agreeing to another round of talks with Meralco with the consumer’s welfare in mind and to maintain harmony among players in the power industry. This (negotiation) will redound to benefits for electricity users," Quilala explained.

Napocor’s move to again sit down with Meralco on the power sales contract was in response to suggestions raised by the Senate committee on energy.

The talks will provide an appropriate forum to address the concerns of both parties on the interpretations of their sales agreement.

Napocor and Meralco have earlier sat down to explore the idea of "sharing the burden" of their IPP contracts but the talks were sidetracked by new issues affecting the power industry.