MANILA, Philippines – Puno ng “inconsistencies” ang naging privilege speech sa Kamara ni Sta Rosa, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez na una nang nagsusulong na hatiin ang franchise ng Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
Ayon kay Meralco VP and Head of Corporate Communications Head Joe Zaldiarriaga, mali ang claim ni Fernandez na 70 porsiyento ng electricity supply sa Luzon ay hawak ng Meralco.
“We would like to clarify that Meralco does not control 70 percent of Luzon’s electricity. In the Meralco area, 90% of industrial consumption and 1/3 of commercial consumption is supplied not by the distribution utility but by competitive retailers this includes Aboitiz, First Gen, etc” pahayag ni Zaldarriaga.
Sa isang statement na ipinalabas ng Meralco sa Kamara, sinabi nito na walang katotohanan ang sinabi ni Fernandez na hawak ng Meralco ang buong Calabarzon area.
“Meralco also does not serve the whole of Calabarzon contrary to the claim. There are many other Electric Cooperatives (ECs) and Distribution Utilities (DUs) in Calabarzon, including FLECO (in the province of Laguna), BATELEC I, BATELEC II (biggest EC in the country), Ibaan Electric, First Bay, Quezelco I, Quezelco III, and others in Batangas and Quezon,” giit nito.
Mali rin ang impormasyon na ang lugar ng Pampanga ay hawak lahat ng Meralco, ani Zaldarriaga ilan sa nag-ooperate sa lugar ay ang Angeles Electric, PELCO I, PELCO II, PELCO III, San Fernando Light at iba pa.
Sinabi pa ni Zaldarriaga na ang Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ng National Capital Region (NCR) ay hindi 60 percent taliwas sa pahayag ni Fernandez, sa katunayan sa datos ng Philippine Statistics Authority(PSA) ang GDP sa NCR ay nasa 32%.
Ipinaliwanag pa nito ang Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) ay hindi dini-determina ng distribution utilities.
“We have no power to determine this as this is a regulatory function,” dagdag pa nito.
Nilinaw pa ng Meralco na bagamat ang Meralco ang pinakamalaking distribution utility sa bansa ay wala itong rekord ng anumang anti-competitive behavior o pang-aabuso ng market power.
“On the contrary, we have always managed to supply electricity to our customers in the most transparent and least cost manner, and is the only distribution utility that has complied with an ERC directive to refund distribution charges by refunding more than 48 Billion pesos in 2023. Meralco has always capitalized on economies of scale to ensure that it can get the lowest generation cost from its power suppliers,” nakasaad pa sa statement.
Sa kanyang privilege speech tinuran ni Fernandez na ang Meralco ay nag-ooperate sa tatlong sektor sa Luzon– NCR (National Capital Region), South Luzon (Calabarzon) at North Luzon sector ng Pampanga at Bulacan.
“They control the whole of Metro Manila, NCR, they control the whole of Calabarzon, including my province, Laguna. They control Pampanga and Bulacan. They are so huge and enormous that they have subdivided the whole franchise. They have subdivided it into the central, southern, and northern sector,” pahayag ni Fernandez sa kanyang privilege speech.
Nais ni Fernandez na gamitin ng Kamara ang kapangyarihan nito na amyendahan, suspendihin at hatiin ang kasalukuyang prangkisa ng Meralco. Gail Mendoza
