ACEN seeks PSA term adjustment

Consumers, at least in Metro Manila, may have to endure higher power rates once regulators approve a petition filed by ACEN Corp. to revise a provision of its power supply agreement, or PSA, with the Manila Electric Co., or Meralco.

Meralco first vice president and regulatory management head Jose Ronald Valles disclosed that ACEN filed for a so-called change in circumstances, or CIC, due to a spike in coal fuel prices.

Thus, the latter sought to recover additional fees for power supplied to Meraco in 2022.

Valles said ACEN initially filed for CIC claims of around P2.56 billion for 310 megawatts, or MW, of baseload and mid-merit electricity supplied for the period.

However, he argued that Meralco’s assessment showed that ACEN’s claims should only be P706.14 million and recoverable via a staggered basis within half a year.

Valles estimated that if the Energy Regulatory Commission, or ERC, allows ACEN claims for the force majeure event caused by the pandemic, it would result in more than 4 centavos increase in the generation charge for six months.

Joint filing possible

According to Valles, Meralco can jointly file the CIC claim with ACEN, should they agree on a final claim cost, to protect the integrity of the power deal.

“The reason why we’re joining the filing is we want to preserve the PSAs. Under the contract, if we don’t agree to file and seek the approval of the ERC for the claim, then they have a recourse to terminate the PSA, which is provided for under the contract,” Valles told reporters.

“We don’t want them to exercise that right. We calculated that if they are terminated, it will be more costly as that means we will secure another contract from another supplier that is more expensive which we don’t want,” he added.

Valles stated that if the ERC wouldn’t grant ACEN’s CIC claims, the latter could go to court to appeal.