Energy chief appears at Senate probe of power rate hike

ERC photo/INQUIRER PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines –  Beleaguered  Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)  chairperson  Zenaida Cruz-Ducut appeared on Wednesday at the Senate  investigating the recent power rate increase imposed by the  Manila Electric  Co (Meralco)  starting this December.

Ducut  has been  in  the limelight these  past days  after she was  tagged as a conduit of alleged “pork barrel” scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.   The ERC chief was absent when the committee on energy at the House of Representatives held its own inquiry Monday.

Aside from Ducut, other ERC officials were also invited in the hearing of the committee on energy being headed by Senator Serge Osmena III. Invited were Meralco president Oscar Reyes;  Emmanuel Ledesma, president  of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp; and  representatives  of various  power  energy  operators, among  others.

The  hearing  started a little past 10 a.m.

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Ducut to attend Senate hearing on huge power rate hike Wednesday