Meralco distribution rate to remain unchanged until 2026 — ERC chief

Suspended Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta on Thursday said the grounds for her preventive suspension was already moot since the issue raised in the complaint against her has already been decided by the power industry regulator.

Speaking at the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City, Dimalanta said the ERC already voted 3 to 2 on Aug. 21 in favor of considering Manila Electric Company's (Meralco) fifth rate regulatory period as a "lapsed period."

"I was part of the two that dissented, along with Commissioner [Catherine] Maceda. Our dissent vote was that there needs to be a proper reset for the fifth regulatory period, which is the 2022 to 2026 period of Meralco," Dimalanta said.

"The majority of votes is to consider it as a lapse period and proceed with the sixth regulatory period," she said.

Dimalanta said that this means that Meralco's distribution rate would remain at its current rate at P1.3522 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) until 2026.

"Ibig sabihin, walang pagbabago muna doon sa distribution rate ng Meralco (This means that there will be no changes on Meralco's distribution rate, for now)," she said.

"Mag-file na lang ng bago ang Meralco for the sixth regulatory period, which is 2026 to 2030 tapos doon na lang mag-reset (Meralco may file for an adjustment in the sixth regulatory period, which is 2026 to 2030. Then there could be a reset)," she added.

Asked if the grounds for her six-month preventive suspension should be considered moot, Dimalanta said she already explained in her motion for reconsideration filed last week that the regulator has already made a decision on the matter.

"Naipaliwanag din naman po namin dun sa motion for reconsideration… na may action na po ito. Actually, natanong na rin po ako niyang tungkol diyan kung legally dapat ba ma-dismiss na siya agad? At bakit po pinataw pa rin yung suspension kahit na tapos na yung case? 'Yung sagot ko po doon, siguro po hindi alam pa kasi ng Ombudsman na tapos na po 'yung case," she said.

(We have already explained in our motion for reconsideration... that action has been taken. Actually, even I have been asked if legally I should be dismissed right away. Why was the suspension still meted even if the case was already over? My response to that was that the Ombudsman maybe didn't know that the case was finished.)

Improving transparency

The Office of the Ombudsman has placed Dimalanta under a six-month preventive suspension for "grave misconduct, grave abuse of authority, gross neglect of duty prejudicial to public service."

The order stemmed from the complaint filed by the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), which alleged that the ERC failed to recalculate Meralco's distribution rate.

Dimalanta said the Ombudsman's decision could be a misunderstanding as she vowed more transparency concerning the ERC's decisions to avoid similar issues in the future.

"One of my realizations from this experience is that we can improve our measures for transparency. For instance, after each Commission meeting, we can already post or publish our action taken on each agenda item so that stakeholders will already know the movement in their cases even before the actual ruling is issued. This is the same as what the Supreme Court is doing now in many of their cases," she said.

Dimalanta was appointed chairman of the ERC by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in 2022. Her term is expiring in July 2029.

Meralco's response

In a statement, Meralco said it "could not comment on the reports that the ERC already ruled on our fifth regulatory rate reset application as we have yet to see or receive a copy of the decision."

The power distributor explained that it filed for an adjustment in its tariff rate from 1.35 per kwh to 1.57 per kwh in March 2022.

"Based on ERC Rules, which require that the rate application of distribution utilities must be based on forecast of their annual revenue requirements in the next four years, the fifth Regulatory Period Application of Meralco should have been decided by ERC before the start of the 5RP on July 1, 2022," the company said.

"Just like for other distribution utilities, rate reset applications are necessary for Meralco to be able to implement projects and programs that will ensure fulfillment of our mandate to deliver stable and reliable service to our customers," it said.

Moreover, the power distributor said that as a highly regulated entity, its rates go through a rigorous regulatory review and approval process that includes public hearings to ensure that they are fair and reasonable. — VDV, GMA Integrated News