Manila council condemns high power rates

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila City Council condemned yesterday high electricity rates the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has been charging consumers.

Manila Councilor Don Juan Bagatsing said the council passed a resolution, which he co-authored with Fourth District Councilor Antonio Archimedes, Matias Capistrano and City Council Pro-Tempore Edward Maceda, expressing opposition to high electricity rates.

Councilors said power generation charges in Metro Manila have risen by 134.1 percent from P4.87 per kilowatt hour (kwh) in 2000 to P11.40 per kwh in 2013.

They said Meralco had also announced a pass on additional charge of P4.15 per kwh last December, the highest increase proposed by company now pending with the Supreme Court.

A temporary restraining order issued by the high tribunal on Meralco’s proposed rate increase will expire on April 22.

Earlier, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) had ordered Meralco to refund overpayment of customers and re-compute the generation charges collected from them.

“The price of electricity in Metro Manila is the third highest in the Asia-Pacific region, tremendously affecting the income of residential households, the production expense of commercial and industrial establishments and the operation of government agencies delivering frontline services,” the resolution stated.

Bagatsing said Manila has a population of about 1.7 million -- all are consumers of electricity.

He said a “stable, affordable and transparent electricity pricing is cited by consumers and business owners as an important factor in improving the cost and quality of living and doing business in the city.”

Gabriela rally

Meanwhile, members of militant women’s group Gabriela picketed in front of the ERC office, condemning the approval of P0.89/kwh power rate increase effective this month.

Gabriela lamented that Meralco and other industry players still have to explain and be made accountable for the anomalous originally computed WESM rates for November-December 2013, which led Meralco to claim a P4.15/kwh increase during the said period. â€“ Jose Rodel Clapano, Christina Mendez