RANJIT GOES TO COURT

URDANETA CITY—Stop the increase!

This was the appeal made before the court as a petition for injunction with temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or preliminary injunction was filed against the Pangasinan III Electric Cooperative (Panelco III) that implemented a P5.63 per kilowatt hour (KWH) rate hike in December from P9.80 per KWH to P15.40 per KWH, the second highest power rate increase in the country.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which approved to the hike, is also named in the case filed at the Regional Trial Court, Urdaneta City last February 3.

The 20-page petition was filed by Sixth District Board Member Ranjit Shahani, who earlier questioned the increase before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan; former Senator Leticia Ramos Shahani and Rogelio Arciosa, vice president of the Federation of Consumers Association of San Nicolas, a local consumers’ group, as co-petitioners.

Shahani’s legal counsel, Atty. Nelson Palaris, remarked, “We also asked for the issuance of a TRO and preliminary injunction so that while we are hearing before the court, the court will issue an order to stop the implementation of the power hike.”
Shahani maintains that Panelco’s rate hike was illegal because it violated a constitutional provision on the need for consultation with the cooperative’s member-consumers.
“The increase, which was the highest so far in Pangasinan and higher than the staggered P4.15 per kwh rate increase by Meralco, is a record high that made Panelco III’s electricity rate the second highest from among the distribution utilities (DU) in the entire country,” the complainants alleged.

PANELCO DEFENSE

Panelco III has an existing power supply agreement with GN Power Mariveles Coal Plant Ltd., Inc. (GN Power) that requires the latter to supply 40 megawatts (mw) of electricity. However, GN Power has only supplied 20 mw due to its alleged regular periodic maintenance works in the previous months.

Panelco III claimed it was forced to buy power from wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) at a higher rate.

Palaris asserted that Panelco should have a backup supplier and not only rely on one generating company.
On ERC, the petition said the agency gravely abused its discretion in allowing Panelco III to increase its electricity rate without affording the affected consumers the right to be heard on the matter as required under the law and jurisprudence.

“The assailed act of PANELCO III in implementing electricity price hike was done not by a final order, resolution, or decision which can be the subject of a motion for reconsideration to the ERC under Rule 23 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure.  There was no proceeding before ERC that could have enabled petitioners to assail before ERC the legality of its act, or clothed it with competence to answer the same,” the petition said.

During the provincial board inquiry on the matter, Atty. Julius Cesar Peralta, Panelco III chairman of the board of directors, explained that there was no public consultation made as the increase was not their decision but a result of price hike in WESM.
Peralta also noted that the rate increase was authorized by the ERC by virtue of Republic Act 9136.

OTHER COMPLAINTS

The Knights of Columbus in Rosales passed a resolution on Dec. 27, 2013 strongly requesting Mayor Susan Casareno and the Sangguniang Bayan to urgently initiate a formal complaint against “the very high electric rate spike (P5.64/ kwH)” and one-time collection schedule by Panelco III without public consultation and approval by the appropriate agencies of government.

Eusebio Miclat of Consumer Watch said in a separate protest letter that “This (huge increase) makes the Board of Directors (of Panelco) extremely callous and insensitive onerously thinking of themselves alone without regard for hard-up member-consumers”.

Panelco serves about 150,000 consumers in Urdaneta City and 18 municipalities in eastern Pangasinan. Other parts of the province are served by Dagupan Electric Corp and Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative.—Johanne R. Macob and Tita Roces

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