APL deplores move of ERC

Workers from the Alliance of Progressive Labor picketed the Energy Regulatory Commission office this morning to protest the decision of the ERC granting authority to the National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) and Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) to raise power rates on a monthly basis.

“It is a stupid response to a problem that should have been solved long ago if the government had only listened to the clamor of the people to rescind its onerous contracts with the Independent Power Producers or IPPs, “Josua Mata, Secretary General of the Alliance of Progressive Labor, said.

The APL argued that the consumers are still paying the Purchased Power Adjustments or PPA because the government merely hid it, along with other adjustments, under a new name, which is the GRAM or Generation Rates Adjustments Mechanism.

It can be recalled that President Gloria Arroyo lowered the PPA of NAPOCOR to 40 centavos from 1.25 pesos two years ago after the people held massive protests to scrap the PPA from their monthly bills. However, the 85 centavos difference was not actually removed but remained as outstanding debt of the government, which the unsuspecting consumers had to pay in the process through a series of rates increases. Aside from this, the government guarantees the supply of oil to the IPPs. With the interminable depreciation of the peso to the dollar and oil price increases in the world market, NAPOCOR debts to the IPPs expanded tremendously thus increasing it today to an awesome amount of more than 900 billion pesos.

Unfortunately, the ERC decision has aggravated the situation further because now, NAPOCOR and MERALCO were not only given the authority to increase rates on a monthly basis but they can do so without approval by the ERC and holding of public hearings.

“The ERC and the Arroyo government have not proven that they are serving in-behalf of the Filipino people but are in fact, instruments of the IPPs to ensure windfall profits as the power industry degenerates further at the expense of the consumers and the Philippine economy,” Mata added.

The Alliance of Progressive Labor vowed to continue protesting the decision and until the government finally accede to the demand of the people to scrap the PPA and rescind its onerous contracts with the IPPs.