Stop power hike, Shahanis ask court

URDANETA CITY—Political leaders and consumers in Pangasinan province on Monday asked a court here to nullify the power rate increase that Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (Panelco) III implemented in December, saying it was “whimsical and arbitrary.”

In a 20-page petition filed in the regional trial court here, former Sen. Leticia Ramos-

Shahani, her son, Board Member Ranjit Shahani, and Rogelio Arcioso, vice president of the Federation of Consumers Association of San Nicolas, Pangasinan province, also asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop Panelco III from implementing the rate increase while the petition is being heard.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) was also named respondent in the petition.

In an earlier interview, lawyer Julius Peralta, Panelco III board chair, said the increase was triggered by “abnormalities” in the supply and demand in the electricity market. He said the Malampaya natural gas field shutdown caused the high prices of electricity in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM).

“What added to the problem was when our power supplier also shut down,” Peralta said.

Lawyer Nelson Palaris, who represents the Shahanis and Arcioso, said the petition was filed following complaints from consumers after Panelco III increased its power rate by P5.6384 per kilowatt-hour in December, raising its residential rate from P9.80/kWh to P15.40/kWh.

Panelco III has some 200,000 consumers in 16 eastern Pangasinan towns and Urdaneta City.

“We have two grounds. First, there was lack of due process; there was no public hearing. And second, the increase was also [an offshoot] of negligence and bad commercial decision committed by Panelco III management,” Palaris said.

In increasing the rate, the petitioners said Panelco III and the ERC committed “grave abuse of discretion” when they disregarded the due process the law required.

They said the ERC approved the increase “without affording the affected consumers the right to be heard.”

Moreover, they said, Panelco III officials also did not inform the local governments concerned about its application for the increase and did not publish it in a newspaper of general circulation.

In accusing the cooperative of negligence and poor management decision, the petitioners said Panelco III entered into a contract for its power requirement with only one generating company, GNPower Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd. Co.

“Being active in the distribution business for the past decades, Panelco III is aware of the periodic maintenance works regularly conducted by generating companies,” they said.

“As a sound business practice, Panelco III must have entered into backup supply agreements with other generating companies that will give it the lowest price for its power requirements during periods of shutdown,” they said.

Panelco III has an interim supply agreement with GNPower to supply 40 megawatts of electricity to the cooperative, Peralta said. This is about 85 percent of Panelco III’s requirement that ranges from 49 MW to 54 MW, he said.

“During the time of the shutdown, GNPower was able to supply us only 20 MW. Therefore, we were constrained to get the rest [of the power requirements] from WESM,” Peralta said.

In a news conference, board member Shahani called on the Panelco III board of directors to resign.

“Clearly, for the record, the Panelco III board is incompetent; grossly incompetent … I recommend they all resign for delicadeza,” Shahani told reporters.

Roselle Chan, Panelco III board vice chair, said she could not comment yet on the petition when reached by the Inquirer by cell phone. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon