CONSUMERS and power firms keenly await the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission on the joint plea of conglomerate San Miguel Corp.’s power units and the Manila Electric Company for an increase in their previously approved power rates.
In a nutshell, if the ERC grants the temporary relief, electricity prices in Luzon will increase by 30 centavos per kilowatt hour . However, without it and with a termination of the PSAs, Meralco has estimated an increase of at least 80 centavos up to P1.30/kwh in the price of electricity over the next three to four months, as it will have to find alternative sources that will most likely be costlier, including the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market .
“This is what the job is all about—finding that fine balance between business and consumer interests. I think they are not necessarily divergent, actually, but the challenge is to find that point of convergence which ultimately is the space of sustainable growth for the power industry,” she said via Viber.
Ang said the current situation is seriously jeopardizing the company’s critical operations, projects, and financial obligations. “We know any price increase is unpopular, and normally we never ask for one—which is what we did for all of last year, when we absorbed expanding costs that we do not pass on to consumers.
He alleged that power companies are just using the petition as a “Trojan Horse” for them to allegedly rake in profits at the expense of consumers. Phinma Energy Corp., which was renamed to AC Energy Philippines and later to ACEN Corp., won in the competitive auction to supply Meralco 200MW for P4.8849 per kWh for 10 years or until December 25, 2029.