Karmatic justice

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

Karmatic Justice

Case Study:  Juan, Julio and Jose put up a bottled-water production business in a place where there is no source of water. They complied with all the government required documents and immediately put up a processing plant named Coola.

Pedro is under contract with Coola as the authorized distributor of the bottled water. As such, he enjoys adding a certain amount to the price of bottled water as income under sanction by the Local Water Authority (LWA).

Having monopoly of bottled-water in the area, the price per bottle during the first two months was cheaper as expected, maybe to brag. Pedro, however, was surprised when Coola filed a petition to LWA charging his customers its losses during the early months of testing operation.

Surprisingly, LWA approved the petition. Pedro was advised to gradually insert the amount of Coola’s losses in the price per bottle until the company’s losses is fully recovered. In this case Pedro is now the collector of Coola.

Question: Is it fair for LWA to charge into the account of Pedro’s customers the losses of Coola from its previous operation? Isn’t the profit and loss part of the risks in Coola’s venture? Is Coola’s business venture immune from losses?

Well, here’s the true to life story of a case that transfigures the above. The Coal Fired Power Plant owned by the Global Business Corporation, and managed by Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC).

They filed a petition to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to allow them to collect from PECO’s customers their losses from testing operation known as Under Recovery Program.

On what misfortune, the petition was granted by the ERC and a monster was let loose to bleed us more when the mistakes belonged to them.  Losses are part of the risks in a business venture. Any and all losses shall be deducted from the capital investment, not from the consumers’ pocket!

Imagine the P690M charged to us when we have not even used that power? The PEDC losses as their claim hinted at, are not of our own making? Most of city residents are already in depth of poverty and unjust charges can drive them in brink of insanity

People from the ERC who granted that anti-poor petition should know that it is only for them and the profit greedy rich that what they did is great. As to their identity, know them when they die and nobody cries!

Our leaders must come out now with a bold stand to stop the ERC from charging us the P690 unjust recovery of PEDC. This will be reflected as another increase in the producer’s rate to be added to our already charges filled electric bills. Now you know what monopoly means!

If our leaders ignore this upcoming unjust increase, the most logical solution to be drawn is to start a signature campaign to kill this monster of the PEDC and to stop business monopoly in this highly urbanized city.

The perceived increase endangers our budget of the day to become the last casualty. But it also make my day, investors are not lawmakers shielded by a special privilege to slander people by mere rumors and defective evidences. Perhaps, that’s the best they deserved….. see the title!