Panay Electric Company (PECO) will exhaust all legal remedies available to overturn the order issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) revoking its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN).
Lawyer Estrella Elamparo, chief legal counsel of the embattled power firm, said the revocation of PECO’s franchise is “not yet final.”
“We still have legal remedies. Ang malinaw na malinaw lang talaga ay magpasahanggang-ngayon ay walang pang CPCN ang MORE Power at hindi dapat mag-operate,” she told reporters.
“‘Yong order na binasa nila [during the March 6 hearing] na galing diumano sa ERC ay hindi pa CPCN. At sinasabi doon na hindi pa CPCN kundi temporary permit lang ang binibigay sa MORE Power,” she added.
In an official statement, PECO said: “We have not received any official directive from the ERC. The announcement was premised on misrepresentations made by MORE Power, so we are currently apprising the ERC of the true situation.”
In the order dated March 5, 2020, the ERC said it revoked the provisional CPCN issued to PECO “after determining that MORE Power has established or acquired its own distribution system and verified MORE Power’s complete transition to full operations.”
Despite the expiration of its legislative franchise, PECO was allowed by the Department of Energy (DOE) to continue operating through its CPCN until MORE Power, the new franchise holder, completes its transition to full operations.
The revocation paved the way for the issuance of a provisional authority to MORE Power to operate a distribution network in Iloilo City.
The ERC also allowed the Enrique Razon-owned power firm to implement the last approved distribution charges of PECO.
According to the power regulator, it came up with decision after it conducted an inspection and confirmed that MORE Power has “gained full possession and control over five substations, has prepared for all other aspects related to electricity distribution, and has power supply contracts with four power suppliers that will ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity, sufficient to serve the consumers in the franchise area.”
“The ERC inspection team has likewise verified MORE’s full readiness and capability in aspects of development, operation, and maintenance of distribution systems,” the order stated.
Meanwhile, Presiding Judge Emerald Requinto-Contreras of the Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) ordered on March 6 MORE Power to return to PECO the power distribution operation in the city.
She directed both MORE Power and PECO to adhere to the guidelines in the addendum to the writ of possession (WOP) she issued.
One of the guidelines states that “MORE Power may deploy their personnel to man and oversee the substations to exercise their possession and control of the distribution facilities, but the operation should still be handled by PECO personnel who have the technical expertise.”
“We are hopeful that once we are able to apprise the ERC of the true situation that’s happening on ground, they will not only reverse this order but should also deny the outright the application of MORE Power for a CPCN,” Elamparo said.IMT
