THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved an order requiring Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to implement next month its refund to its electricity customers covering nearly P7 billion worth of over-recoveries for the past few years.
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is set to “confirm” an order requiring distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to refund to electricity consumers P6.9 billion in over-recoveries for the past three years.
THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has talked to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to try to settle their differing views on the rules covering retail competition and open access (RCOA), some parts of which are on hold after the distribution utility sought and obtained a court injunction.
ENERGY Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi met with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) President Oscar S. Reyes on Thursday, advising the distribution utility to “service the people who need our help the most.”
WITH THREE major projects in the pipeline, the power generation subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it expects to build a 3,000-megawatt (MW) portfolio.
MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Energy (DOE) is allowing market intervention in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the country’s trading floor for electricity, to temper unusual price spikes as what happened in November last year. “In a nutshell, there is now market intervention,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla said when sought for comment on the new circular. Based on Department Circular 2014-01-0001, the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), the WESM operator, has the option to intervene in the market by setting an administered price gauged on the average price in the last 30 days prior to the day of intervention. It said PEMC may intervene when there is a supply emergency “where electricity supply capacity shortfall, is measured at four percent or below the total demand.” “Provided further that the four percent trigger shall continue to be applied until the DOE determines, through the National Transmission Corp., the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and the Grid Management Committee, that a new trigger is applicable,” Petilla said in the circular. He stressed that market intervention is merely an option that may or may not be exercised by PEMC as market operator. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “[I]n light of recent events, the DOE saw the need to provide for an interim measure for the market operator and/or system operator’s declaration of market intervention in order to ensure utmost consumer protection specially in times of critical situation of the supply of electricity power that triggers Read More …
THE HOUSE of Representatives is looking to revisit the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA) following the spike in power rates that Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) plans to implement this month.
MANILA, Philippines – United States-based Pangea Motors, LLC (Pangea) is bringing to the Philippines a fully electric public utility vehicle (PUV) next month. Pangea has teamed up with local investors to create an international partnership called Global Electric Transportation with a Philippine franchise named GET Philippines Inc. to carry out its plan. “GET has an exclusive arrangement with Pangea for the supply and distribution of the public utility vehicle called the Comet,” Pangea said in a statement. Pangea said that unlike its competitors, its vehicles are designed to be fully electric from the beginning instead of modifying gas vehicles or golf carts. The vehicle uses lithium iron phosphate batteries that are enclosed in a watertight casing and consists of less than 300 parts instead of the usual 4,000 parts of a typical diesel-run engine, which translates to cost-efficient manufacturing and minimal maintenance, Pangea said. To penetrate the Philippine market, the GET team has painstakingly studied different angles of the Philippine transport system to ensure that all members of the community benefit from this endeavor. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “GET Philippines has conceived cashless fare payment and centralized fleet management systems, designated infrastructure, customer service support and adaptable financial models to support the needs of all the stakeholders involved,” Pangea said. The first vehicle is expected to arrive in the Philippines by mid-September. It will be making its public appearance soon after, the company said. It is set to serve passengers on its first route by Read More …
YANGON, Myanmar – Businessmen in this Southeast Asian country are counting on the entry of Philippine investments here to help move their economy forward. Dr. Maung Maung Lay Lay, vice-president of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (UMFCCI), which groups 26,000 members and 69 affiliate organizations, said this would be a “win-win situation” for both Myanmar and the Philippines. Reeling from a half century of military rule, Myanmar has dramatically fallen behind its peers in the region. Its economy grew by an average of five percent in the last five years, picking up only last year with a 6.3 percent clip. Lay said Myanmar needs foreign investors, including Philippine companies to move the economy forward and help prepare it for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. Lay noted for instance that the Philippines has one of the cheapest mobile phone systems in the region and welcomed potential investments in the telecommunications sector. In mining, Lay said their country also needs investments. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “They are our partners. But we also have to make sure they don’t just extract our resources and leave it at that,” he said. The Philippines, which posted the highest first quarter economic growth in the region at 7.8 percent, has been dubbed by Standard & Poor’s, a credit rating agency, as the new leader in Asean. In June, President Aquino said after the World Economic Forum for East Asia held here that three Read More …
MANILA, Philippines – Profit taking and discounted sale of blue chip Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) dragged down the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) yesterday. The PSEi retreated 0.41 percent or 27.33 points to settle at 6,621.02, while the broader all shares index dropped 0.48 percent or 19.26 points to 4,032.08. Most active stock were mixed but the main index was dampened by the plunge in Meralco’s share price. Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) trimmed its 32.8-percent stake in the country’s largest power distributor. SMC sold 64.33 million Meralco shares at P270 apiece, representing a steep 10.71-percent discount compared with the previous closing price of P302.40. Top-traded Meralco lost 8.2 percent to end at P277.60 yesterday amid the heavily-discounted sale. Given the run-up of the benchmark index past the 6,600 level, some investors opted to book gains. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The local stock market bucked another record high in Wall Street, which was driven by strong corporate earnings. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 0.5 percent or 78.02 points to 15,548.54 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.5 percent or 8.46 points to 1,689.37. Closer to home, Asian shares were mixed, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 shedding 1.48 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng inched up 0.03 percent. Locally, most counters were in the red, led by financial firms that slipped 0.98 percent or 15.72 points to 1,595.30. Mining and oil added 0.57 percent or 81.52 points to 14,369.94.