The Power for People Coalition (P4P) on Monday filed a motion for intervention before the Court of Appeals (CA) concerning the case filed by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) against the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). The ERC junked SMC’s petition to charge consumers for its losses from the straight-price 2019 power supply agreements (PSA) SMC has with Meralco.
The PSAs concerned are fixed price, meaning that SMC absorbs the risk of changes in fuel prices instead of consumers. This mechanism is credited for the lower prices of electricity in the Meralco franchise area, compared to those in areas not protected by fixed-price PSAs.
“Pakinggan ang nagbabayad, hindi ang kumikita. Ang nag-uusap lang dito ay ang pamahalaan, ang nagbebenta ng kuryente, at ang nag-susuplay ng kuryente. Parang taya sa isang kainan ang konsyumer na di nila kaya pigilin ang mga kumakain kung ano pwedeng kunin. Hindi tama ito, at kaya dumudulog kami sa CA para baguhin ang ganitong sitwasyon,” said Leody de Guzman, Chairman of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP), a member of P4P.
“Nararamdaman na natin ang epekto ng kung ano ang mangyayari kung tuluyang kanselahin ng CA ang mga PSA ng SMC at Meralco. Lagpas ?10 na kada kilowatt hour (kWh) ang singil ng Meralco simula noong nag-issue ng TRO ang CA na nagsuspinde sa naturang mga PSA. Milyun-milyong residente ng Metro Manila ang magdurusa ngayon dahil sa pagkawala ng fixed pricing,” de Guzman added.
P4P Convenor Gerry Arances lamented the lack of consumer participation and said that in addition to the issues of fixed pricing and consumer consultation, there is also the issue of the sanctity of PSAs.
“We must remember that this issue arose because SMC, after competing for the fixed-price contract, decided that it will no longer honor it when it no longer suited them. SMC never asked to change prices when the pandemic hit and fossil fuel prices went down to an all-time low. SMC kept the profits and it was the consumers who had to suffer without any voice and participation at any point in this fiasco. That is not just unfair, it is unjust,” said Arances.
Luke Espiritu, President of BMP and legal counsel of P4P, said that the petition would address one of the greatest shortcomings of the Electrical Power Industry Reform Act, or EPIRA, which governs the electricity sector.
“EPIRA did not provide a mechanism for consumer consultation. At the very least, we hope the CA will allow consumers to be heard as this case is not about any simple contract. PSAs are contracts imbued with public interest, with a direct impact on everyone, as everyone consumes electricity,” said Espiritu.
The activist lawyer also said that the case pending before the CA will have serious repercussions which would require all stakeholders to be heard to ensure the fairest decision possible.
“Fixed price PSAs were conceived as a way to comply with the spirit of EPIRA, which is to provide electricity at the lowest possible cost to consumers. If SMC succeeds in convincing the court that it can change prices at will, it effectively negates any fixed-price contract to the detriment of consumers. Fixed-price contract recognizes that corporations have the expertise and means to hedge changes in fossil fuel prices in the market and should therefore bear the burden of absorbing such changes instead of consumers, who do not have any choice but to pay what is asked of them,” said Espiritu.
De Guzman said that consideration of consumer welfare and their participation in the process is a matter of justice to the people.
“Karapatan ng bawat Pilipino na magkaroon ng abot-kayang suplay ng kuryente sa kanilang tahanan. Ito ang prinsipyo na dapat gumagabay sa bawat desisyon sa kaso o polisiya na may kinalaman sa presyo ng kuryente,” said de Guzman. (Philip Reyes)
