Philippines’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr urges court to reconsider ‘unfortunate’ Manila power deal
- Court allowed South Premiere Power to suspend a power supply agreement with Manila Electric Company after regulator prevented them from raising tariffs
- Decision raises the possibility of electricity rate hikes in the capital, which would have an ‘extremely deleterious effect’ on Filipinos, Marcos said
– Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr hopes the country’s Court of Appeals will reconsider a decision that raises the possibility of electricity rate hikes in the capital, the Office of the Press Secretary said in a statement.
The court allowed South Premiere Power, a unit of San Miguel Corp to suspend a power supply agreement with Manila Electric Company (Meralco) after the companies were prevented from raising tariffs by the regulator.
“We hope that the CA [Court of Appeals] will reconsider and include in their deliberations the extremely deleterious effect this will have on power prices for ordinary Filipinos,” Marcos was quoted as saying, describing the decision as “unfortunate”.
South Premiere and Meralco had sought to raise prices amid higher costs of coal, which the Energy Regulatory Commission rejected in September citing fixed prices set under power supply agreements.
Marcos, who began his six-year term in June, has promised lower electricity rates, which are among the highest in Asia. Higher electricity prices would put further pressure on Philippine inflation, which hit the fastest pace in nearly 14 years last month.