The ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) to void high prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) from November to December 2013 would result in the passing on of charges totaling P17 billion to consumers in Luzon, a consumer group warned on Wednesday. Once the verdict takes effect, a typical household would pay an average of P700 on top of its monthly electricity bill, while commercial and manufacturing establishments can expect hikes of P10,000 and P350,000, respectively, CitizenWatch Convenor Tim Abejo said in a statement. “Electricity consumers in Luzon will bear the burden of the CA decision, as it would force distribution utilities to collect from end-users more than P17 billion, just so that [power-generation] companies can get additional profits,” he added. Citing previous reports, CitizenWatch said these firms made some P50 billion in 2013, which is poised “to increase even more, given the additional multibillion windfall.”It added that the Energy Regulatory Commissions’ (ERC) intervention lowered prices and impact on consumers to more than a third, from P24 billion to P7 billion. The consumer group emphasized that consumers should not suffer because of the rationale behind the CA decision, trusting that ERC Chairman Agnes Devanadera and the Supreme Court would take appropriate action.

Source: Manila Times December 13, 2017 18:00 UTC