WE agree with the view of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla that the recent Court of Appeals (CA) issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Energy Regulatory Commission's (ERC) ruling on the rate hike petition by San Miguel Global Power was a mistake that will burden hard-pressed consumers, and should be reversed.

Last September 29, the ERC denied a joint petition by the San Miguel Corp. power unit and Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for a rate increase, ruling that the fixed-price supply deal between the two firms provided no room for adjustments. SMC had requested the rate hike for electricity it sells to Meralco under their power supply agreement (PSA) due to higher fuel costs caused by the war in Ukraine and other factors that had not been anticipated when the PSA was originally approved by ERC and implemented.