MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court en banc on Tuesday extended the temporary restraining order (TRO) on the contested power rate increase imposed by the Energy Regulation Commission and the Manila Electric Corp. (Meralco).
Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te announced that the high court's motion was in response to the urgent plea by militant groups for the extension of the restraint on the hike P4.15 per kilowatt hour increase in charges.
The magistrates extended the TRO for an additional 60 days from its expiration or until April 22, 2014.
Power generation companies were also prohibited from demanding and collected the rate additions until April 22 this year.
The companies covered by the halt order are Masinloc Power Partners Co Ltd, San Miguel Energy Corp, South Premier Power Corp, First Gas Power Corp and the National Grid Corp of the Philippines.
The tribunal similarly deferred the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation's collection of affected costs.