• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Member-consumer-owners of the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) can expect high power costs starting the month of June.
In a statement, NONECO said the average residential electricity rate for June 2026 has increased to P12.96 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up by P0.9458 per kWh from the May 2026 rate of P12.01per kWh.
According to NONECO, the 7.87 percent increase in electricity rate was primarily caused by a sudden surge in prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) following the government’s decision to lift the temporary suspension of market pricing.
To help lessen the impact of the increase on consumers, NONECO immediately filed a petition with the Energy Regulatory Commission and secured approval for a staggered payment scheme.
Under this arrangement, only 50 percent of the WESM-related charges will be reflected in the June 2026 bills.
The remaining balance will be collected gradually, with 25 percent to be charged in July and the final 25 percent in August, a statement from NONECO said.
NONECO explained that spreading the WESM charges over three billing periods will help ease the financial burden on consumers while ensuring the stability of the power distribution system.
The electric cooperative said that only 12.43 percent of the total June 2026 electricity rate goes to NONECO through its distribution, supply, and metering charges, which amount to P1.61 per kWh.
NONECO advised consumers to focus on monitoring their monthly kilowatt-hour consumption rather than simply looking at the total bill amount.
“Electricity bills can fluctuate due to changes in pass-through charges, which are costs that are passed on directly to consumers and are beyond the cooperative’s control,” it said. “NONECO encourages its member-consumer-owners to regularly monitor their power usage and practice energy conservation measures to help manage their monthly electricity expenses and avoid higher bills”.| GPB
