The Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has extended by 20 days the 72-hour restraining order against the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), preventing the power distributor from contracting 1,000 megawatts (MW) worth of power via the competitive selection process or CSP.
The court said the extension was based on the sworn testimony of petitioners who warned of its disastrous impact on Malampaya gas and the country’s energy security.
The operators of the Malampaya gas project have petitioned the court to bar Meralco from pushing ahead with the CSP originally scheduled on the second and ninth day of August.
The Taguig RTC said that Meralco virtually waived its right to reply when it “presented no evidence to overturn the finding” of the court in granting the earlier TRO.
“Wherefore premises considered, this Court resolves as it hereby resolves to extend the previously issued 72-hour TRO to 20-day TRO enjoining the Manila Electric Co. and all other persons, agents, individuals, employees and representatives acting under its instructions and authority from conducting its CSP, under its current Terms of Reference (TOR), including the receipt of bids, the awards and the implementation of any award arising therefrom,” the Taguig RTC said.
The petition was filed by the Malampaya consortium including Prime Energy, UC 38 LLC, Prime Oil and Gas Inc. and the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC).
The consortium claimed that unless the CSP was permanently stopped, power firms using imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal would dominate the energy sector and defeat several government objectives including reducing pollution, lowering power rates and promoting local fuel industries.
Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco senior vice president and head of regulatory management, earlier said the CSP proceedings are all in accordance with rules.
“We would like to stress, however, that all CSPs for our supply requirements are done in accordance with existing rules of the Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission. It is our mandate to ensure that we conduct these in a timely manner, as delay will expose our consumers to an unnecessary burden in the billions of pesos in the form of higher power rates,” Valles said.
