Case Digest (G.R. No. 183626)
Facts:
Surigao Del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Energy Regulatory Commission, G.R. No. 183626, October 04, 2010, Supreme Court Second Division, Nachura, J., writing for the Court.SURNECO is a rural electric cooperative organized under Presidential Decree No. 269. On February 8, 1996 the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives, on behalf of SURNECO and 33 other rural electric cooperatives, filed before the then Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) a petition for approval of a Purchased Power Adjustment (PPA) formula to comply with Republic Act No. 7832 (the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994). The ERB consolidated identical petitions (ERB Case No. 96-49). The IRR of R.A. No. 7832 (Rule IX, Sections 4 and 5) set caps on recoverable system loss for RECs and provided a model PPA formula.
By Order dated February 19, 1997 the ERB granted SURNECO provisional authority to implement the PPA formula, subject to documentary submission for review. After the passage of R.A. No. 9136 (EPIRA) the ERB’s pending cases, including ERB Case No. 96-49, were transferred to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) (re-docketed as ERC Case No. 2001-343). The ERC issued clarificatory and policy pronouncements — notably its June 17, 2003 order and its January 14, 2005 order — addressing whether power cost in the PPA should be computed "gross" or "net" of discounts and adopting a PPA confirmation policy treating discounts as part of cost-recovery mechanics.
After reviewing SURNECO’s PPA submissions and holding conferences, the ERC issued an Order dated March 19, 2007 confirming SURNECO’s PPA for February 1996–July 2004 and finding an over-recovery of PhP18,188,794 (PhP0.0500/kWh) for SURNECO’s Main Island consumers and an under-recovery of PhP2,478,045 (PhP0.0100/kWh) for Hikdop Island consumers; the ERC directed refund/collection accordingly. SURNECO’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the ERC on May 29, 2007.
SURNECO filed a petition for review with the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 99781 seeking annulment of the ERC Orders and prayed for a TRO and preliminary injunction. The CA, in a Decision dated April 17, 2008, denied the petition and affirmed the ERC; a June 25, 2008 CA Resolution denied SURNECO’s motion for reconsideration. SURNECO then filed this petition...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was SURNECO denied due process by the ERC in the confirmation of its PPA and the issuance of the challenged orders?
- Did the Court of Appeals and the ERC err in disallowing SURNECO’s use of the NEA multiplier scheme and in holding that the system-loss caps under R.A. No. 7832, as implemented, preclude that scheme?
- Was the ERC correct in directing SURNECO to deduct discounts obtained from its power supplier from the computation of power cost and to refund over-recoveries to consumers?
- Did R.A. No. 9136 (EPIRA) remove or otherwise nullify th...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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