As its 7.6 million customers will take the brunt of higher electricity rates, power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has formally asked the Court of Appeals to lift the 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) it issued that junked the P0.30 per kilowatt hour (kWh) rate hike petition of South Premiere Power Corporation (SPPC) of the San Miguel group.

In a motion filed with the 14th Division of the CA on Monday, Dec. 19 this year, Meralco prayed that the TRO issued Dec. 2, 2022 be lifted and for the court to deny SPPC’s application for the issuance of a writ for preliminary injunction “for any or all the grounds cited and for utter lack of merit.”

The power utility primarily cited “the disruption of basic and essential services being rendered by SPPC, contrary to the objective of the TRO, and to the detriment of millions of Filipinos served by the power distributor.”

Meralco stipulated “the grant of the TRO was not in furtherance of the interest of the general public” – as such development had in fact triggered the cessation of supply of 670 megawatts of capacity from the Ilijan plant of SPPC to the Luzon grid.

“The TRO led to the cessation of 670 MW supply that SPPC was obligated to deliver under its power supply agreement (PSA), which has a lower rate compared to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and the emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) where Meralco currently sources the replacement power,” the company stressed.

Meralco further apprised the appellate court of petitioner SPPC’s allegation that "it will suffer serious and substantial financial losses that will eventually lead to its closure due to staggering financial losses is speculative and could not be used as a ground to grant an injunctive relief.”

According to the power firm, the damages it (SPPC) had already sustained from January 2022 to May 2022, which is the period subject of the case, has already been "mathematically calculated and therefore, cannot be considered as a grave and irreparable injury that should warrant the issuance of the writ of preliminary injunction, let alone the continued effectivity of the TRO.”

Meralco similarly pleaded for the court to "lift the TRO and direct for the parties to continuously implement the PSA in order to bring back the scenario that would serve and protect the public from the unnecessary burden of increased electricity costs.”

Under Republic Act 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), the power utility company pointed out that the "supply sector is a business affected by public interest, and therefore SPPC’s rights and interests must give way to serve a higher end for the interest of the public."

On cessation of supply from the Ilijan gas-fired power plant covered by the PSA, Meralco stated that “the TRO was interpreted by petitioner SPPC that its notice of termination dated August 4, 2022 is therefore valid and effective.”

Hence, Meralco said that the issuance of the TRO has led to a "situation where the last actual peaceable and uncontested status which preceded the controversy was reversed, rendering the issue-at-hand moot; and effecting a prejudgment of the case.”

Thus, it qualified that “to protect the public and in accordance with its obligation to provide its customers with the least cost of electricity, Meralco opposes SPPC’s application for injunctive relief, since: instead of preserving the status quo, it will reverse the same; its grant will render the case moot and academic; its grant will be a prejudgment of the main case; the TRO and the preliminary injunction are improper remedies for this particular case; and its grant shall cause prejudice to the consumers.”

Additionally, Meralco deemed that “petitioner SPPC has no clear legal right for the grant of the same; and petitioner failed to demonstrate that it will suffer grave and irreparable injury if injunctive relief prayed for will not be granted.”