Groups ask CA to nullify Meralco-Eeri power supply agreement
MANILA, Philippines – Multisectoral groups on Monday asked the Court of Appeals to nullify the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a 1,200 MW power supply agreement between the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and gas plant Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (Eeri), saying that it would result in “double charging” of unknowing consumers.
In a 54-page petition for certiorari, the petitioners led by Gerry Arances, convenor of the Power for People Coalition, urged the appellate court to annul and set aside the ERC’s decision on Dec. 10, 2024, that granted final authority to the agreement between Meralco and Eeri.
The petition argued that the ERC acted with grave abuse of discretion when it approved the power supply agreement that would allegedly allow Eeri to collect P932 million for the connection of point-to-point assets twice–once from Meralco’s consumers and again from the National Grid Corp., which would pass the cost to all grid consumers.
“Power consumers today struggle to keep afloat from the flood of high electricity bills – and yet here we have ERC lending its hand to a billion-peso abuse against consumers. The very institution mandated by law to serve consumers’ best interests has no business enabling power companies to leech off them,” Arances said in a statement.
The petitioners also claimed that the agreement will lock in electricity consumers to at least 15 years of fossil gas use, effectively causing the country to miss its climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, specifically the 1.5°C global warming target by 2050.
“By allowing the [agreement] that is the subject of the assailed decision to proceed, the Commission is allowing fossil fuel power plants to operate until 2040, or just ten years before the final climate deadline,” they said.
Earlier in April, the Department of Energy raised concerns over the delay in the delivery of Eeri’s power supply to Meralco, which was supposed to start in December 2024.
READ: Energy gap flagged amid Meralco-Eeri supply agreement setback
The ERC cleared the 15-year power supply agreement between the two parties late last year but then-ERC Chair Monalisa Dimalanta had said that the deal was only “provisionally approved.”
In a statement, Meralco said it has yet to see a copy of the petition but reiterated that its power supply agreements and the rates undergo “strict regulatory review and approval process before being implemented.”
“This included our PSA with EERI, which underwent an open and transparent competitive selection process in accordance with all rules and regulations,” Meralco said.
“We have always been transparent when it comes to our power rates — providing monthly updates and detailed explanations on any adjustment,” it added. /gsg
