Wednesday, June 04, 2008 Meralco denies ‘highway robbery’ claim
LOPEZ-owned Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said it did not commit any “highway robbery” by padding the costs of electricity billed to its customers.
Meralco vice president Elpi Cuna issued the statement in reaction to the claim of Estrella Elamparo, spokesman for the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), that Meralco admitted in Congress its engagement in highway robbery.
“No such admission was made by the company. We have nothing of that sort to admit. It is not true that Meralco engages in “highway robbery”. If she would just look at the cost of power from our different suppliers, transmission costs included, she would see that Meralco’s independent power producers (IPPs) provide our customers low rates, especially if they are dispatched at contract or Minimum Energy Quantity (MEQ) levels,” Cuna declared.
Cuna added, “(the issue on) ghost power deliveries may I suggest that Attorney Elamparo study the facts first before simply repeating the accusations of some congressmen”.
From November 2000 to December 2001 when the alleged “ghost deliveries” were made, Cuna asserted that it was covered by a Letter of Agreement (LOA) between state-run National Power Corporation (Napocor) and Meralco.
The LOA was the solution offered by the Department of Energy (DOE) and Napocor to address the issue of “access to Napocor’s transmission system” and in order to provide the “least cost to the consumers”.
Under the LOA, Napocor (which was both in generation and transmission) will not dispatch the First Gas Sta. Rita plant unless extremely necessary and instead, the energy that Meralco would need from Sta. Rita would be supplied by Napocor at a discounted rate.
Cuna also noted that the plant’s full 1,000-megawatt (MW) capacity was already available on August 17, 2000 per the contract. The fixed cost payments to Sta. Rita would have to be paid, thus the fixed cost payments of P9.58 billion.
Energy fees, based on actual dispatch by Napocor to Sta. Rita, of P3.34 billion were also paid to First Gas.
“As a lawyer, Attorney Elamparo should be familiar with the terms of these IPP contracts, either entered into by Napocor or by the distribution utilities like Meralco, which ERB (Energy Regulatory Board) approved and which ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission), subsequently in an order dated February 24, 2003, found no valid reasons nor legal basis to invalidate,” said Cuna.
Cuna pointed that “our customers can rest assured that all the company’s dealings are aboveboard. Meralco has even recently received an award from the Institute of Corporate Directors citing the company for good corporate governance. The award, which was given in collaboration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Philippine Stock Exchange, and the Ateneo Law School, recognizes the transparency and public disclosure practices of publicly listed companies in the country.”
He noted that with the awards received by Meralco, the company cannot be judged as a mismanaged corporation adding that these awards serve as tangible proof of Meralco’s excellent management of company affairs.
Cuna also stressed that Meralco has been keen on abiding by the rules and regulations set by Republic Act (RA) 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira) and by the ERC. (MSN/Sunnex)
