The Manila Electric Co. has started sourcing from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market the supply withheld by SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. which was the subject of the recent 60-day Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Court of Appeals .
Meralco officials could not yet categorically say if power rates will go up soon as a result of its decision to source supply from WESM. However, WESM prices are now higher than the rates of SPPC. Based on Energy Regulatory Commission records of Meralco billings for November, the 670MW SPPC PSA accounted for 13.4 percent of Meralco supply and priced at P4.2455 per kWh while average WESM price for the same period stood at P8.47 per kWh.Meralco, meanwhile, is negotiating with other generation companies to secure the 670 MW supply and shield its customers against volatile and potentially higher WESM prices.
Thereafter, the Court of Appeals issued a Notice of Resolution and a TRO enjoining the ERC and Meralco from implementing the ERC order denying the joint petition filed by SPPC and Meralco for temporary relief for a 60-day period. Her office, she added, awaits action by the Office of the Solicitor General after the matter was referred to OSG for undertaking appropriate legal remedy.