Pasig judge to issue ruling Friday on PPA class lawsuit

Judge Alfredo Flores of the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167 will rule Friday on a class lawsuit filed by at least 40 organizations seeking a temporary injunction on the collection of the controversial purchased power adjustment (PPA).

During yesterday’s hearing, lawyer for the National Power Corp. (Napocor) Gil San Diego pleaded to the court to dismiss the case even as he questioned the RTC’s jurisdiction to hear the lawsuit.

San Diego said the PPA issue was a concern that must be addressed to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

However, a lawyer for the PPA opponents, former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, said that their petition for an injunction was intended to stop the PPA collection temporarily, citing that the PPA charge burdens consumers, notably the poor ones.

Another opposition lawyer, Raymund Fortun, said they are questioning the constitutionality of the PPA collection.

Enrile and Fortun told the court that consumers are in danger of being cut off from their electricity supply because of their inability to pay the expensive PPA charges.

In the same hearing, a Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) witness explained to the court the technical aspect of PPA collection charges in a bid to justify the continued collection of the controversial charges.

Meralco: PPA charges cut

Meanwhile, Meralco said in a statement that the PPA charges for June are down by P1.26 per kilowatt-hour or amounting to P2.04 per kwh compared to the P3.30 per kwh in May.

Meralco had said earlier that it could lower its electricity rates by P0.60 per kwh if allowed to source its power supply from independent power suppliers outside of Napocor and that if these IPPs are allowed to operate at maximum capacity and fully dispatched.

However, this proposal was rejected by Napocor, saying it would cost the government billions in terms of lost revenue.

On the other hand, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said yesterday it was alarmed by the failure of the ERC to resume public hearings on Meralco’s "unbundling" and price increase petition.

"Eight days before the deadline for the approval of the petition and the ERC has not even notified the different oppositors regarding the status of important issues concerning Meralco’s proposed rate hike," Bayan spokesman Renato Reyes Jr. said.

"We find this very alarming," he said.

Reyes said "very important developments" during the past few weeks should have prompted the ERC to resume public hearings on Meralco’s petition. He cited the developments include the reported overbilling by Meralco of its customers.

Noting the recent remarks of the International Monetary Fund on the adverse impacts of power price reduction, Reyes said, "This can very well have a bearing on the ERC’s decision which could come out any time soon."

High electric rates are needed to attract potential investors in the power sector to assure them of profits, he said.