The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the petition of the San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on its 330-megawatt (MW) capacity to the Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO).
In the verdict, CA said that SMEC’s “prayer for the issuance of a TRO and/or preliminary injunction is denied.” It added that the “TRO should not be issued since there is a need for an extensive determination of the merits of SMEC’s case.”
The court added that if the TRO would be granted, “the writ of injunction will give SMEC the unrestricted power to terminate, at its own will, the Power Supply Agreement to the detriment of public consumers.”
In a report by the Manila Bulletin, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said that the San Miguel power company should continue implementing its power supply agreement (PSA).
Infrawatch PH convenor Terry Ridon said in a BusinessWorld report that the ERC must ensure competitive rates “comparable to the price proposal of the original joint SMC-MERALCO petition.”
Meanwhile, SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP) said that it will “continue to pursue all available legal remedies” in line with its fiduciary duties to its stakeholders, in order to “preserve our ability to provide stable power supply for consumers and forge ahead with new and existing projects aimed at helping secure our country’s future power needs.”
