- CHERYL G. CRUZ
There will be an increase of P0.2266 per kilowatt-hour in the residential rate of the Central Negros Electric Cooperative this billing month of May, which means that consumers will pay P12.9637/kWh, from last month’s rate of P12.7371/kWh.
Atty. Arnel Lapore, Ceneco acting general manager, said Tuesday, May 16, that the rate hike is mainly due to a 4.15 percent increase in the total generation charges, brought on by the upward adjustment of P1.4036/kWh in the price of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WSEM), or from P7.5527/kWh in April to P8.9556/kWh this current billing.
Lapore also said the implementation of the true-up adjustments in the missionary electrification rate of P0.0433/kWh for years 2013 and 2014, per ERC Notice of Resolution dated March 22 this year, also contributed to the increase.
The total pass-through charges, equivalent to P11.7771/kWh of the power rate, include the generation and transmission charges, ERC-approved adjustments, government subsidies, and taxes.
The remaining P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco through the Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) charges for its administrative and operational services, and Reinvestment und for Sustainable Capex (RFSC).
“Since 2010, Ceneco’s DSM and RFSC have not changed,” Lapore said, adding that in monitoring the monthly electricity usage, “consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption and not the bill amount since it varies depending on the pass-through charges”.
Last week, the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative announced that its average residential rate this month increased by P0.1913/kWh, or to P14.5769/kWh from last month’s rate of P14.3856/kWh.
The increment was largely due to the P1.4349/kWh increase in the generation charge in the WSEM pricing, which averages P9.3230/kWh this May from the P7.8881/kWh rate in April, the Noceco advisory said./CGC
