• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative said May 16 that its average residential rate this billing month increased by P3.2066 per kilowatt-hour.
This means that Ceneco member-consumers will pay P15.1632/kWh of electricity consumed this month, from the P11.9566/kWh rate in April.
Ceneco acting general manager, Atty. Arnel Lapore, said in an advisory that the hefty increase was due to the cost of power generation and the P4 upward adjustment in the price of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
“We understand that any increase in electricity rates can be concerning for our consumers. However, the rates computation is influenced by various factors,” Lapore said.
He noted that for the billing month of May, the main contributory factor is the increase in generation charge by 31.96 percent. This was due to the WESM price hike at P12.6706/kWh, from the P8.0879/kWh rate in April.
Only eight percent of the total rate for the month goes to Ceneco through the Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) charges for its administrative and operational services, and the Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capex (RFSC), Lapore explained.
The 92 percent of the total rate includes pass-through fees, such as the generation and transmission charges, ERC-approved adjustments, government subsidies and taxes, he added.
He also said that the rate hike is being experienced by majority of the distribution utilities in Western Visayas.
Ceneco, meanwhile, posted an advisory from the National Electrification Administration (NEA), which explained the increase in electricity prices.
NEA Administrator Antonio Almeda said May 16 that “the rise in electricity prices is primarily due to an increase in the generation component of the electricity rates.”
This means that the costs incurred by the power suppliers are directly transferred to the electric cooperatives (ECs), like Ceneco, and then to the consumers, without any markup from the EC, Almeda said.
He added that, as per recent reports, the sweltering heat index across the Philippines, a factor beyond the control of the ECs, has significantly driven up the generation costs.
“This increase in generation costs is unavoidable on the part of the ECs and directly impacts the rates charged to the MCOs,” he said, adding the hike “is beyond the control of the ECs.” | CGC
