By Neil Alcober/Manila Times
Terry Ridon of Kabataan party-list wants the state to take over power utilities if the Manila Electric Co (Meralco) and the country’s power generators cannot deliver affordable power rates to the public.
Ridon made the statement in response to the “fear mongering” by Meralco, which warned of blackouts in the event of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court (SC) blocking the intended rate hike, is retained.
Late last year, Meralco had announced that power rates would rise by P4.15 per kilowatt hour to take effect immediately, but the SC issued a TRO last Dec 23 preventing the implementation of the increase. The youth lawmaker said the prospect of blackouts in the Meralco franchise area can constitute a national emergency justifying the takeover of all power utilities, from generation to transmission as well as distribution.
“Meralco should thus be circumspect in delivering public statements which seem to blackmail the public to simply accept the reality of very high power rates,” he said.
Ridon said the state can also take over the generation plants despite a provision in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) declaring generation plants as not being public utilities.
