SC urged to lift TRO on power market

A group of electricity generators on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to immediately resolve the legal issues concerning retail competition and open access (RCOA) in the power industry after the tribunal temporarily stopped its implementation.

The Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (Pippa) said the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the high court last week would deprive consumers from getting the lowest priced electricity available in the market.

Under Republic Act No. 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (Epira), RCOA gives consumers with monthly average peak demand of at least 1 megawatt the right to choose their power supplier and directly negotiate for the best rates.

“Pippa supports the implementation of RCOA and hopes the issues before the Supreme Court will be resolved with finality at the soonest possible time,” the group said in a statement.

“The recent TRO issued by the Supreme Court has the effect of putting on hold aspects of the RCOA, specifically the timeline for lowering of thresholds,” it added.

The high court stopped the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission from enforcing five resolutions and department circulars covering RCOA, preventing big electricity consumers from entering into supply agreements with government-accredited power suppliers.

The TRO was sought by the San Beda College-Alabang, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Riverbanks Development Corp. and Ateneo de Manila University.

The tribunal said the petitioners were able to establish “a clear, legal right to the TRO considering that the Epira law provides for the voluntary migration of end-users to the contestable market” and that they would “stand to suffer grave and irreparable injury” if it had not been granted.

Pippa, a group of 28 power generators which provide 13,549.4 megawatts, or nearly 83 percent of the country’s electricity supply, also voiced support for a state policy to allow an “open market scheme” in the power industry.

“We hope that this will finally settle the issues and the industry will already move forward to attain the objectives of Epira,” it said.

The group said RCOA would help “institutionalize competition in the supply of electricity, allowing the electricity end-users to choose their suppliers based on low price and other factors.”

Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares said the TRO prohibited major power consumers from choosing the source and price of their electricity and favored only big electricity producers such as Manila Electric Co.