Ombudsman suspends ERC chair Dimalanta for 6 months

Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta.— INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the six-month preventive suspension of Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chair Monalisa Dimalanta for alleged neglect of duty in connection with a complaint filed by a consumer interest group.

In an order dated Aug. 29 but released to the media on Thursday, the Ombudsman said the order was prompted by a case filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) over the ERC’s failure “to recalculate the rate of Meralco that protects the interest of the public.”

“The evidence on record shows that the guilt of respondent Dimalanta is strong and the charges against her involve grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, gross neglect of duty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service which may warrant her removal from the service,” read the decision signed by Ombudsman Samuel Martires.

The antigraft body said “her continued stay in office may prejudice the case filed against her” and that the preventive suspension will stay “until the administrative adjudication of this case is terminated, but not to exceed six months without pay.”

Regulator’s delay

In December 2021, the ERC released the rules for setting distribution and wheeling charges for privately owned electricity distribution utilities. Wheeling rates refer to the cost associated with the distance the electricity is transported and is usually levied when electricity is generated at a particular location but consumed at another.

The rules set a Fifth Regulatory Period (5RP) covering four years from July 2022 to June 2026, within which a regulated entity must present its expected spending and proposed projects, and the ERC would then evaluate and decide how much of it should be passed on to consumers.

Meralco, or the Manila Electric Co., subsequently sought the ERC’s approval of its annual revenue requirement and spending scheme for the 5RP.

An initial hearing was conducted in April 2022, followed by a pretrial conference in September of the same year.

However, the ERC moved to postpone the power distributor’s presentation of evidence due to the lack of a pretrial order, which was released much later in May.

This delay, according to the complaint, was detrimental to consumers as the ERC failed to set new rates for Meralco that would have benefitted electricity users.

The order also cited Nasecore’s contention that Dimalanta had yet to resolve several motions filed by the group.

These included a motion for a regulatory audit of implemented projects of Meralco from 2015 to 2022, filed on March 15, 2023; a motion for the conduct of a quasi-juidicial and regulatory audit of Meralco, filed on March 30, 2023; and a motion for immediate resolution of the request for Meralco’s regulatory audit, filed on June 2, 2023.

Second case

“Complainant avers that respondent is the sole authority to issue the pretrial order and the delay in its issuance also caused the delay of the proceeding,” the order said.

According to the Ombudsman, Dimalanta’s suspension from the office would “prevent her from further committing malfeasance and/or misfeasance” while the investigation is underway.

Dimalanta said she would wait for an official copy of the order and the complaint before issuing a statement.

Aside from the complaint acted upon by the Ombudsman, Nasecore president Pete Ilagan said, the group also filed a case against Dimalanta for allegedly approving Meralco’s purchase of electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and passing it on to customers despite the lack of approvals from the ERC board, in violation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.