KMU opposes power rate hike

MANILA, Philippines - Members of the militant labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) staged a protest rally yesterday to oppose a petition of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) seeking a “low” power rate hike this summer.

The KMU said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) should reject Meralco’s appeal for a 10-centavo power rate increase. 

“Even a meager rate hike, given the situation of power consumers and the circumstances of this increase is unacceptable,” KMU secretary general Roger Soluta said.

The group held a picket in front of Meralco’s main office in Pasig City and urged the ERC to junk the power firm’s appeal.

Soluta said any increase in the power rate is a burden to the Filipinos, who according to him are already suffering from unemployment and low income.

The group demanded the abolition of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or EPIRA as it called for a government takeover of the power sector.

For its part, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) challenged ERC Chairman Zenaida Ducut to identify personalities behind a collusion that sought a higher power rate hike last year.

The TUCP said ERC’s order to compute anew the power generation cost at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for the months of November and December 2013 indicated market abuse, manipulation and collusion among power industry players.

“The ERC has exercised police powers but has not identified who is accountable,” TUCP executive vice president Gerard Seno said as he called for Ducut’s resignation if she fails to identify those people.