‘Meralco, ERC dupe end-users’

A CONSUMER group on Friday accused Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) of allegedly conniving with Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to manipulate electric rate cuts.

Erstwhile Undersecretary Butch Junia of the Office of the Press Secretary claimed that ERC is taking them for a ride in last public hearing for the Meralco proposal for a P0.06/kwh slash on electricity rates. Junia insists consumers are shortchanged and Meralco should cut their rate up to P0.90.

Junia said that the website advisory of ERC claims that the public hearing schedule is at 9 in the morning of September 9 and there is another notice posted on the door of the hearing room that the scheduled hearing will start at 9 am but to their surprise, they were advised that the hearing was moved to 2 p.m. of the same day.

“At first, we are wondering why Meralco representatives are not around and while we are waiting for officials to officially start the hearing, an ERC employee advised us that the hearing was rescheduled at 2 in the afternoon,” Junia narrated to newsmen.

He said the petitioners, including 82-year-old principal petitioner, Genaro Lualhati got mad upon learning that they are being taken for a ride.

Junia claimed that they feel that if there are no petitioners present on the original schedule, ERC and Meralco might continue the hearing and will just note that petitioners might lost interest and had not appeared.

Even veteran columnist Herman Tiu Laurel of Daily Tribune and Opinyon newspapers who was present, blew his top upon learning that they were taken for a ride and accused ERC officials of collusion with Meralco representatives but he was stop by cooler head petitioners. Laurel is a member of angry petitioners group.

“Why Meralco representatives were advised of the sudden change of schedule despite their website and the notice posted on the door were identical that the hearing is schedule at 9 in the morning? Is there any attempt by ERC to discredit us should we fail to arrive at the original schedule or try to fool us so that we will no longer come back on the rescheduling?” Junia asked.

Upon learning that ERC officials is having a closed-door council meeting, mad petitioners want to barge in to question the sudden changes of schedule but was stop by cooler heads that immediately intervene.

According to the former senior Palace official, Meralco is offering to cut only six centavos per kilowatt hour their electric rate for this year from 164 centavos but they insisted that consumers are shortchanged for they should cut their rate up to 90 centavos, a difference of 66 centavos per kilowatt hour. –SAMMY MARTIN REPORTER, Manila Times