Power struggles are always painful.
“The Supreme Court answered Bayan Muna’s petition on Tuesday, February 18, granting its urgent motion to extend for 60 days the temporary restraining order (TRO) against Meralco’s PHP4.15-per-kilowatt-hour rate increase,” reports Kimberly Go on Solar News Online.
The TRO was initially issued on December 23, 2012 and was set to expire February 23, 2014. It’s been extended to last until April 22.
However, Department of Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said “the TRO would not really solve the problem.” He added that “government regulators and the Supreme Court should instead work together to decide on the proper amount that could be passed on to consumers.”
Meralco had said that they need to implement the increase so that they could continue purchasing power from power companies like the Masinloc Power Partners Corp., the San Miguel Energy Corp., the South Premiere Power Corp., First Gas Power Corp., and the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.
Photo from MorgueFile
