Just New Warrior

MIRIAM ASKS ERC TO REDUCE POWER RATES

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the Joint Congressional Power Commission (Powercom) issued instructions to ERC chair Rodolfo Albano to take immediate steps to reduce Meralco rates.

Santiago said that although Powercom has no power to issue orders to ERC, the EPIRA law gives Powercom the function of issuing guidelines to ERC, and to monitor and ensure implementation of the EPIRA, which was intended to lower power rates.

In a privilege speech yesterday, Santiago issued the following guidelines to ERC:

  • Resolve within three months, all pending petitions already submitted for resolution, with the end in view of lowering immediately the Meralco power rates;
  • Uphold consumer protection in resolving the present petition from Meralco and Napocor, requesting permission to pass on to the consumers some P14 billion of the Meralco debt;
  • Announce immediately a cap on systems losses, lower than the existing 9.5 percent cap;
  • Order Meralco to list all inclusions in their generation cost;
  • Order Meralco to show cause why it should not immediately give refunds to its consumers, pursuant to the Supreme Court decisions in cases concerning Meralco income taxation which were apparently passed on to consumers; and
  • Order Meralco to show cause why it should not immediately give refunds for deposits on billing meters.

In the same privilege speech, Santiago said that the internet website of ABS-CBN, owned by the Lopez group, has committed against her the crimes of blackmail or grave threats, as well as the crime of libel, intended to defeat her candidacy for the International Court of Justice.

Santiago said that the website is guilty of following a scheme or pattern, because a series of derogatory articles against her and Powercom appeared immediately in the website after she chaired a Powercom public hearing to investigate why Meralco power rates are so high, the second highest in Asia.

Santiago chaired the meeting on May 12; the alleged defamatory articles appeared on May 16, 21, 23, and 25.

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