Home > Nation > Top Stories Napocor, Meralco take ‘war’ to newspaper ads

MANILA, Philippines - The "blame game" between Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and the National Power Corp. (Napocor) on high power rates shifted Tuesday from the Senate to national newspapers.Full-page ads appeared in major newspapers - some blaming Napocor, others blaming Meralco for high electricity rates. Noticeably, "pro-Meralco" groups placed more full-page ads in some newspapers."Hoy Gising (Hey wake up)!" was the theme of the latest "pro-Meralco" ads, which said systems loss allowances are "normal, usual and standard."One of the pro-Meralco ads noted that Meralco under the Lopez Group had brought down systems losses to 9.65 percent in 2007. "Meralco has reduced system loss to its lowest level in 27 years," it said.This was a far cry from the 21 percent systems losses incurred by Meralco when it was being run by "Marcos cronies" during Martial Law, the ad stated.It said that when the Lopez Group took over Meralco in 1987, the systems losses went down to 17 percent in 1988 at to 15 percent in 1989. On the other hand, the ad stated that a law in 1994 limited maximum deductible systems loss to 9.5 percent in urban areas and 14 percent for rural areas.Another pro-Meralco ad which appeared in another newspaper claimed that Meralco fees actually went down in the last five years.Yet another ad questioned Napocor for its P9 per kilowatthour generation cost at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). "May bukol ba ang presyo ng Napocor electricity (Is there a profit to be made from Napocor electricity)?" it asked. On the other hand, pro-Napocor ads placed by the "National Labor Union" also appeared in newspapers citing discrepancies between Meralco's ads and figures on its website.It also questioned Meralco's "sweetheart deals" with power generating firms owned by the Lopez Group."Mas binibigyan ng prayoridad ng Meralco ang Sta. Rita at San Lorenzo. Mas inuna ang mga sweetheart deals ng Meralco sa kanyang affiliate companies (Meralco is prioritizing Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo. It puts sweetheart deals first because of its affiliate companies)," it said.The ad said Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo are owned by First Gen Corp., which in turn is controlled (66.23 percent) by First Philippines Holding Corp. First Philippine Holdings Corp. also controls Meralco with a 33.4 percent stake.First Philippine Holdings Corp., is in turn is controlled by Benpres Holdings Corp. (43.2 percent) - whose 55.4 percent stake is owned by the Lopez family."The issues being raised go beyond power rates. The Napocor is in a better position to explain its power rate structure," it said. It also said shareholders of Meralco outside of the Lopezes want to keep Meralco profitable to get a good return from their investments, "but these same shareholders want to be assured that Meralco's profit are earned with honor.""Shareholders not within the ambit of the Lopezes' power want to stop Meralco management's double talk. Only by being transparent can all of us, stakehoholders and consumers, be assured that we are being charged fair and equitable power rates... Protect the public, lower electriccost," it added. -