INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Militant lawmakers accused the Manila Electric Cooperative (Meralco) and power generators of blackmailing consumers into accepting higher rates to prevent blackouts after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order on the impending power hike.
Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said Meralco’s tactic of announcing rotating blackouts if the added charges are not paid is a form of extortion from the power cooperative.
Also, Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA) president Luis Miguel Aboitiz claimed that because of the TRO, the unpaid power generators might not have enough money to pay for the fuel of its peaking plants.
“This is clear blackmail. Meralco and Aboitiz are trying to circumvent the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order with this threat,” Colmenares said in the statement.
Colmenares added that the Meralco, which he tagged as a power cartel, should be monitored closely to avoid taking advantage of consumers.
“The consumers are being fooled by Meralco and the power generators through their power rates and now they are threatening the consumers,” Colmenares said. “The power cartel should be monitored since all they will do is take advantage of consumers.”
He added that Meralco is the number one corporation in the country based on its income of P17 billion in 2013.
“It is simply wrong for the Department of Energy to force consumers to bear the cost of such corporate manipulation,” Zarate said.
Colmenares said that the government’s policy to put the power sector to private institutions through the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) was the cause of the power rate hikes.
“If only the government had constructed more power plants or rehabilitated them like the Agus and Pulangui power plants earlier and not wait for the plants to be privatized first, then power rates would be lower,” Colmenares said.
“It would be more logical to repeal the EPIRA now and return the power industry to a full regulated regime,” Zarate added.
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