PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Sunday, November 27, 2022, that he hopes the Court of Appeals (CA) will reconsider the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the power supply agreement (PSA) between the South Premier Power Corporation (SPPC), a San Miguel Corporation (SMC) subsidiary, and the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
In a statement, Marcos said the suspension of the PSA will have an “extremely deleterious effect” on the prices of electricity in the country, which will affect ordinary Filipinos.
“The implementation of the PSA between Meralco and San Miguel, it is unfortunate that this has happened, it will cause further dislocations and possible price increase for power,” the President said.
“We hope that the CA will reconsider. And include in their deliberations the extremely deleterious effect this will have on power prices for ordinary Filipinos, ” he added.
The TRO against the PSA, which was issued by the CA in November, stemmed from the petition filed by SPPC, SMC and Meralco against the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) rejecting their request for an increase in the generation charge under the PSA due to higher prices for coal and natural gas materials used to produce electricity.
The plea for a price increase was denied by the ERC, saying that the agreed price in the PSA is fixed in nature, and the grounds for the increase cited by SPPC and Meralco were not among the exceptions that would allow for price adjustment.
The ERC has expressed concern about the instantaneous effect of the CA’s TRO on the implementation of the PSA as it will consequently expose approximately 7.5 million registered Meralco consumers in the National Capital Region and other areas in Central Luzon and Calabarzon to higher electricity prices without preparation, usually observed in case of PSA termination.
“If the PSAs are immediately suspended, the required proper observance of the terms of the PSA, including the contractually agreed process of termination, will be set aside,” it said. (SunStar Philippines)