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OPINIONS AND COMMENTARIES
BUTCH
HILARIO
Mabuhay News Service
Nov. 21, 2002
Meralco case needs win-win
solution
Will the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) collapse if it complies with the
Supreme Court decision ordering it to refund consumers to the tune of P28
billion representing overcharging between 1994 and 1998?
The power firm asserts that if the high court decision is to be
implemented at once, then it will lead to the collapse not only of the
company but the entire economy as well.
The logic seems to be like this: if Meralco closes down, then companies
such as San Miguel, Jollibee and PLDT will have no electricity. With no
power to operate their businesses, then these companies will be forced to
shut down too.
But as Meralco knows very well, there is no problem with their
transmission lines, only in their billing system and in their logic. And
Malacanang is justified in deploring the Meralco response to the Supreme
Court ruling as pure blackmail, because it simply does not follow that if
Meralco goes belly up, then the entire economy goes down with it.
The trouble with Meralco is that they're feeding the public with constant
tales of woe. They have a pending petition with the Energy
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Regulatory Commission (ERC) for a rate increase. But they're asking
for a rate increase not because they're losing money, but because they
want more profits.
Shorn of the technicalese, when Meralco says its return on base rate
has been falling, all it means is that they have not been making a
pile of money as before. In other words, the Lopezes are not about to
go to the poorhouse, only that their bank accounts will not be as
hefty as before.
What's clear is that Meralco, the flagship company of the Lopezes, is
not losing money, because it has a monopoly of power distribution in
Metro Manila and outlying areas. It is losing money only in the sense
that its profit levels have not been as high as before.
The issue really is that if Meralco collected more money from
consumers than they should, then reason dictates that they should give
it back.
It is possible that if Meralco would be asked to pay the refund of P28
billion in one blow, then the company could go under. But as a group
of scientists are suggesting, Meralco could
pay up in their own sweet time, by deducting P30 from the bills of
consumers every month for the next eight years.
Government is moving in the right direction in looking for an amicable
resolution of the issue. That would mean satisfying both the need of
consumers to be given what is rightfully due
them, and the need for a private company like Meralco to earn a
reasonable return on investment.
A win-win solution is needed -- and soon -- so that consumers can
enjoy a respite from high power rates even as Meralco tries to keep
its accounting books in the black. (MNS)
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