CATICLAN, April 21 (PNA) — Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) operator, Philippine Electricity Market Corporation (PEMC) is seeking legal options on the blocked Php234.9 million fine for Therma Mobile Inc’s (TMO) non-dispatch of power in 2013.
”With due respect to the court, it shall exhaust all legal remedies available to it insofar as the directive to undergo the arbitration process is concerned in order to protect the integrity of the WESM enforcement and compliance process,” PEMC said in a statement Tuesday.
PEMC President Melinda Ocampo said the market operator will continue with its mandate, in operating the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) with transparency.
“Consistent with the PEMC’s mandate in operating the WESM as a platform for transparency in electricity trading, we shall continue to uphold the integrity of the WESM by ensuring accountability of the WESM participants despite this ruling from the court,” Ocampo said.
It noted the PEMC Board imposed the penalties after TMO breached the WESM’s must offer rule, which requires generation companies to offer their full capacity.
PEMC stressed other companies had also breached the rule and was already sanctioned.
It added the investigation went through the procedures based on WESM rules.
PEMC said it has already submitted the investigation report to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on August 19, 2014, even before TMO filed the case at the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 157 on February 16, 2015.
TMO won the injunction versus PEMC on April 16, preventing PEMC from implementing the Php 234.9 million fine and orders PEMC not to submit its investigation report to the ERC.
The order delays PEMC to submit to the ERC the investigation until the WESM dispute process is finished.
The generation company formerly said it could not run their four power barges at the highest capacity of 234 Megawatts from Nov to Dec 2013 due to transmission facilities.
It noted that the power barges were only acquired on Nov 2013, adding the facilities needed rehabilitation, having not operated for at least five years.
TMO said it had run a stable capacity of 100 MW, having passed off the power to the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
The Nov-Dec 2013 period coincides with the alleged WESM trading collusion, which forced the Meralco to pass on the stopped generation charges at Php 4.15 per kilowatthour (kWh). (PNA)