- CHERYL. G. CRUZ
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative announced Feb. 17 a P3.9133 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase in its average residential rate for this billing month, at P11.5123/kWh from last month’s rate of P7.5990/kWh.
The increase came after a series of power rate decreases since September 2021 at P12.2602/kWh, P10.1788/kWh in October, P10.0620/kWh in November, and P8.7761/kWh in December.
Ceneco OIC general manager Jose Taniongon attributed the P3.9113/kWh rate hike to the increase in the generation, transmission, and system loss charges and other pass through charges, such as lifeline and senior citizen subsidies, GRAM ICERA or Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism and Incremental Currency Exchange Rate Adjustment, and value-added tax.
Ceneco implemented the last WSEM, or Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, power bill reduction adjustment in January 2022, amounting to P183.225 million, at P2.83/kWh, in relation to the NGCP submarine cable damage, Taniongon said in an advisory from Ceneco, adding that the WESM power bill reduction adjustments, with amounts varying per month, were the primary driver of the decrease in power rates for the last three months.
The pass-through charges, equivalent to P10.3257/kWh of the total power rate, include the Generation and Transmission charges, ERC-approved adjustments, government subsidies and taxes.
Only P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco through the Distribution, Supply, Metering Charges and Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capex for its administrative and operational services. Since 2010, Ceneco’s DSM and RFSC rate had not increased, he added.
Taniongon said that for every kWh consumed by residential consumers, roughly 10 to 14 percent of the total bill amount goes to Ceneco. “Thus, in monitoring the monthly electricity usage, consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption and not on the bill amount since it varies, depending on the pass-through charges.”
The Ceneco Board and management also continue to remind electricity consumers to conserve energy to avoid paying high electricity bills.
Meanwhile, Taniongon said that power interruptions will be experienced in several areas of Bacolod Feb. 19 to give way to maintenance activities that will be conducted.
A 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. brownout will affect areas served by RF1, RF2, RF3, RF4 and RF5, or those under the Bacolod-Reclamation 69kV line, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. in areas under the ASDES-Gonzaga Substation. – CGC
