MIRIAM: JAIL FOR LYING ON POWER RATES

“In other words, if I catch them lying under oath, those officials could be fined up to P500,000, and jailed up to six years,” she said.

Santiago said that for her to decide who is lying, she has secured the cooperation of UP professors who are experts in the electric power industry, namely: Profs. Allan Nerves, Rowaldo del Mundo, and Bienvenido Malquisto, from the Electrical and Electronics Engineering College; and Profs. Arthur Cayanan, and Helena Agnes Valderrama from the Business Administration College.

Santiago issued “urgent orders to submit information” to Meralco president Jesus Francisco, NPC president Cyril del Callar, Asst. vice-president Mario Pangilinan of PEMC, and OIC Alejandro Barin of the ERC.

The orders specify particular documents required from each agency, to be submitted 15 days from receipt of the order.

“The first order of the day is to determine the price paid to the IPPs of both Meralco and NPC,” she said.

Santiago said the issue with respect to Meralco is alleged price manipulation, by making it appear that their own IPPs sell at cheaper prices than those charged by NPC and WESM.

The senator said the issue with respect to NPC is that NPC has been passing on to customers actual IPP costs, instead of avoided costs, meaning marginal cost, as provided by law.

“What Meralco and NPC pay to their respective IPPs, sets the reference rate for the power rates paid by consumers. We have to put closure on this IPP issue, otherwise our power rates will be high forever,” she said.

Santiago said that if documents prove that Meralco intentionally made the decisions to favor its own IPPs at the expense of consumers, that would be management abuse which could be a ground to cancel the Meralco franchise.

“It is virtually impossible that Meralco managers did not know that their decisions would result in unconscionable transfer of wealth from consumers to their own pockets. Such alleged mismanagement is punishable,” she said.

“The second order of the day is the alleged NPC manipulation which results in the Meralco billing for WATOU, or weighted average time of use. It appears that the TOU rates of NPC are very high,” she said.

Santiago said a separate hearing will be needed on the issue that NPC is allegedly increasing its prices to create an emergency situation which would allow it to buy fuel, not through competitive bidding, but through negotiation.

“The Senate energy committee has a duty to investigate whether NPC is negotiating with fuel supplies, instead of holding competitive biddings. The related allegation is that NPC is dealing with fly-by-night coal suppliers,” the senator said.

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