ERC - Energy Regulatory Commission

01/26/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/26/2023 05:35

Appeals Court junks SMEC’s plea to restrain ERC order

Appeals Court junks SMEC's plea to restrain ERC order


26 January 2023 / ERC-Planning and Public Information ServiceCITY OF MANILA - The Sixteenth (16th) Division of the Court of Appeals (CA) denied the petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) or preliminary injunction filed by San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC) that was meant to suspend the implementation of the Order issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) dated 29 September 2022.

In a Resolution dated 13 January 2023, copy of which was received today (26 January 2023) by the Office of the Solicitor General, the CA ruled that SMEC failed to prove its right to a restraining order. According to the appellate court, ERC's denial of SMEC's Motion for Price Adjustment already preserves the status quo - which is the contract price in SMEC and MERALCO's Power Supply Agreement. As a result, according to the CA, the grant of SMEC's TRO will "not serve its purpose, since it will have the effect, not of maintaining the Contract Price, but of setting aside the assailed Order itself, thereby rendering the main case, the petition for certiorari, moot." The appellate court also emphasized that, if 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." The 16th Division of the CA further states that a TRO should not be issued since there is a need for an extensive determination of the merits of SMEC's case.

It may be recalled that this case stems from ERC's denial of SMEC and MERALCO's motion for price adjustment in their contract. SMEC filed a Petition for Certiorari against the ERC in which the subject TRO was also prayed for.

The 16th Division, on the other hand, granted SMEC's motion that the subject case be consolidated with another case with similar facts filed by South Premiere Power Corporation pending before the Thirteenth (13th) Division of the CA.