Manila Electric Co. filed a petition with the Pasig regional trial court to declare null and void the issuances of the Energy Department and the Energy Regulatory Commission that prohibits distribution companies from participating in the competitive retail electricity market.
Meralco, in a 91-page petition filed on May 27, asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order and subsequently a writ of preliminary injunction, enjoining the department from enforcing DOE Circular DC 2015-06-0010 and the ERC from implementing Article I, Sections 2 and 3 of ERC Resolution No. 05, Resolution No. 10 and Resolution No. 11, all Series 2016.
Meralco said the issuances impaired the company and other distribution firms under Section 29 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2009 which provides that distribution firms “have the right to engage in the business of suppling electricity to the contestable market.”
Contestable market refers to those electricity end-users who have a choice of a supplier of electricity.