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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
President Gloria Arroyo will meet with power
distributors and business groups from Visayas and Mindanao in Bohol
on Tuesday to discuss ways to lower electricity rates, as the
government continues with its efforts to bring down the charges of
the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Mrs. Arroyo will also meet with representatives
from the Lopez-controlled Meralco in Panglao, Bohol during the
Cabinet meeting scheduled there. Meralco is the country’s biggest
power distributor that charges the highest electric rates.
“The government has already given its
position: We want the power rates of Meralco to be lowered. Now they
are being given a chance to present their views to the government.
So the Cabinet will listen when they make their presentation,”
outgoing Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said in an interview.
Saludo said he is not sure whether the Lopezes,
who own 33.4 percent of Meralco shares, will show up, but stressed
it was the utility firm that requested attendance in the Cabinet
meeting.
Meralco Chairman Manuel Lopez and President
Jesus Francisco are expected to join the Cabinet meeting to explain
their side on the system loss issue, as well as on the omnibus
petition of the government before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)
to bring down the firm’s power rates.
The meeting between the President and the
Lopezes is aimed at reducing power rates, chief presidential legal
counsel Sergio Apostol said, denying that there is an “unholy
alliance” between the government and Meralco.
It was reported that there is an alliance
between the Arroyo administration and the Lopezes to tame ABS-CBN,
another Lopez-owned company, from further attacking the President in
the media.
“The President is interested in reducing power
rates [and] nothing more.” he said.
However, Apostol said Mrs. Arroyo will not
interfere with the moves being taken by Winston Garcia, the chairman
of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) who is seeking to
oust the Lopezes from the Meralco leadership.
“Our President has full trust and confidence
on Garcia’s leadership [as] he had showed to be an effective
administrator in GSIS so we’re leaving the matter of Meralco issue
to him,” he said.
After Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Mrs. Arroyo
will convene the energy forum in Bohol. She earlier ordered her
economic team to study proposals by some lawmakers to remove the
expanded value added tax on oil and electricity, as well as lower if
not scrap the royalties being paid by Meralco for natural gas to
further lower power rates.
Groups invited to attend the forum are
representatives from the Mindanao Business Council, the Cebu
Business Council, Cebu Business Club, and the chambers of commerce
of Cebu and Bohol.
Villafuerte slams Meralco anew
Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte
accused Meralco and First Gas Holdings of peddling another
“blatant and unexpurgated lie” that First Gas’ 1000-megawatt
Sta. Rita plant was fully available in 2000 and 2001, and that
Meralco had to pay full capacity charges because the National Power
Corp. (Napocor) failed to deliver the agreed transmission line
facilities.
Villafuerte accused Meralco of improperly paying
P12.99 billion in the year 2001 and passing the “horrendous amount
to the electric consumers as part of its PPA or purchased power
adjustment.”
In a privileged speech last week, he said
Lopez-owned First Gas did not deliver the corresponding electricity
to Meralco in the year 2001, but was nonetheless paid by Meralco an
average of P1.08 billion a month for full capacity fees and fixed
expenses equivalent to 1000 megawatts, which he said are all based
in Meralco’s own documents.
Meralco spokesman Elpi Cuna explained that the
payment of P12.9 billion in full capacity fees to First Gas was made
because its 1000 megawatt of capacity was available, but could not
be dispatched due to “the unavailability of transmission lines to
connect First Gas power plant to the grid.”
However, Villafuerte said he has ERC documents
showing that Meralco and First Gas Power did not really have a firm
transmission line agreement with the National Transmission Corp., a
government firm created in 2001 by the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act, which took over the power transmission function of the
Napocor.
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