- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. said Friday its average residential rate for this month is P14.8756 per kilowatt-hour, or a decrease of P0.2301/kWh from last month’s rate of P15.1057/kWh.
Ceneco acting general manager, Atty. Arnel Lapore, said the decrease was due to a 1.25 percent total net reduction in the generation charges following the downward adjustment of around P2.3385/kWh in the average Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) price, or from P9.3732/kWh to P7.0347/kWh.
Palm Concepcion Power Corporation fuel cost also decreased, from P9.03/kWh to P7.87/kWh, and extended fuel discount of P0.30/kWh for the January 2023 billing of its 35-megawatt Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with Ceneco, Lapore said in a press statement.
The February bill also includes pass-through charges, equivalent to P13.6890/kWh of the total power rate. These include the generation and transmission charges, adjustments approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission, and government subsidies and taxes.
Only P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco, through the Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) charges and Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capex for its administrative and operational services, Lapore said, adding that these rates have not increased since 2010.
“In monitoring the monthly electricity usage, consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption and not on the bill amount only since it varies depending on the pass-through charges,” he added as he urged consumers to conserve energy to avoid paying high electricity bills.
Ceneco’s January rate of P15.1057/kWh decreased by P1.0949/kWh, from the P16.2006/kWh in December.
The other day, the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative said its residential rate this billing month of February decreased by P1.8241/kWh, or at P14.6545/kWh from last month’s rate of P16.4786, also mainly due to lower generation charges./CGC
