BY WENDELL VIGILIA

THE Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday said it is powerless when it comes to regulating the prices of electricity sourced by Meralco from independent power producers (IPPs).

During the House committee on energy hearing on the high electricity rates, ERC executive director Francis Juan said that while the commission can regulate the prices of electricity Meralco buys from the National Power Corp. (Napocor), it does not have the power to do same to IPPs because of pre-existing contracts.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño said: "The impression that we got is that the ERC is sunud-sunuran lang kung ano ang sabihin ng Meralco, sunud sunuran lang kung ano sabihin ng Napocor."

"Wala ba kayong kapangyarihan para busisihin yan? Anong problema?" he said.

Juan replied: "Yung mga kontrata with IPPs ay nasasaklaw ng mga kontrata na approbahan bago pa man naitatag ang ERC."

"Ang aming nasaksaklawan ay ang pagtiyak na ang kanilang supply ay ang pinaka-mababa," Juan said.

Christian Monsod, a Meralco director, said the average generation cost of Lopez-controlled IPPs ranges from P4.91 to P6.25 per kilowatt-hour.

He said the billing, however, depends on Meralco’s pricing bracket: poor, middle class and rich.

Rep. Amado Bagatsing (Kampi, Manila ) said Meralco should be stopped from charging the additional 1 percent systems loss on top of the 9.5 percent allowable maximum.

"Wala sa batas na puwede nilang singilin yun. Tell me of any public utility that enjoys the same law. Are these other utilities given the same privilege? Bakit masyadong pinagpala ang Meralco?" Bagatsing said.

"You are supposed to be the vanguard in protecting the interest of consumers (and yet) you allow these things to happen and even go on the air and condone such actions by Meralco. Where can people run to kung ganyan kayo? Lumalabas kulang na lang sabihin you’re a spokesman for a public utility," he said.

Bagatsing is an ally of Rep. Pablo Garcia (Kampi, Cebu), whose son GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia is battling the Lopezes over management control of Meralco.

Bagatsing said the Lopez family should agree to a proposal to break the Meralco franchise area into sub-franchises "if it doesn’t like being scrutinized by other Meralco shareholders."

"This is a win-win solution for distributors and for consumers as it will drive power rates down because of the resulting competition among the sub-franchises and the independent power producers," he said.

Bagatsing said the Lopezes can own one of the sub-franchises that may be created in "lieu of Meralco’s monopolistic hold on areas that account for over 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product."

"The Lopezes have about a 30 percent stake in Meralco, which should translate to a 100 percent ownership of a sub-franchise if Meralco is broken up into, say, four franchises," he said.

"By going this route, the Lopezes can manage that sub-franchise whichever way they want to manage it. In this set-up, they’ll ultimately be answerable not to any other shareholders but to their end-users whom they have to satisfy with their quality of service," he added.