- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. said Nov. 16 that its average residential rate for this billing month is P16.2972 per kilowatt-hour, or an increase of P0.8635 /kWh, from last month’s rate of P15.4337/kWh.
The rate hike is attributed to the increase in the Palm Concepcion Power Corporation rate, from P10.5764 to 10.9335; and the upsurge in fuel as well as the average price in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), at P10.2527 from P9.3543, Ceneco acting general manager, Ervin Stan Leo Ticar, said in an advisory.
This was after the Philippine Electricity Market Corporation, the WESM operator, “resumed the collection of congestion and other applicable charges beginning Oct. 2 following the restoration and energization of the transmission line between Cebu and Negros,” Ticar added.
The pass-through charges, equivalent to P15.1106 per kWh of the total electricity rate include the Generation and Transmission charges, ERC-approved adjustments, government subsidies and taxes, Ceneco said.
“Only P1.1866/kWh of the electricity rate goes to Ceneco through the Distribution, Supply, Metering (DSM) charges, and the Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable CapEx for its administrative and operational services,” Ticar said, adding that since 2010, the DSM and RFSC rates have not increased.
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, he said.
Earlier, the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative said its power rates this month increased by P1.5944 per kilowatt-hour, or P18.0621/kWh from the P16.4677/kWh in October.
Noceco general manager, Engr. Ray Bustamante, said the hike “is still mainly driven by the total generation charge, which increased by P1.12614 per kWh, compared to last month.”/CGC
