- CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Energy Regulatory Commission has acted on the complaints of electric cooperatives and consumers in Negros and Panay on the high electricity rates due to the damaged Cebu-Negros submarine cable of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.
The damaging of the submarine cable was not caused by the consumers, but rather by negligence, and the responsible parties shall be made accountable, ERC chairperson and CEO Agnes Devanadera said.
“Congestion charges and others attributable to the incident should not be charged to the consumers,” Devanadera added in her letter to Philippine Electricity Spot Market Corporation (PESMC) president, Leonido Pulido III, dated Sept. 20.
PESMC governs the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), where electric cooperatives or distribution utilities buy electricity to meet the demands of consumers.
The costlier electricity rates have also been influenced by high line rental amounts due to congestion.
“Significant increases in the electricity rates of consumers in Negros and Panay have been observed beginning the June billing. This increase in electricity billings have been decried by many stakeholders as an unreasonable burden to consumers and businesses,” Devanadera said.
The ERC directed PESMC to stop the collection from customers of congestion charges and other applicable fees, including but not limited to line rentals, attributable to the outage of the Cebu-Negros submarine cable, until the complete restoration and operationalization of the transmission line, or until it orders a more applicable pricing and settlement solution.
PESMC was also told to defer the payment of such charges until the complete restoration and operationalization of the transmission line.
The NGCP estimated the completion of the repairs anytime between October 2023 or as late as 26 months from now, the ERC said, adding that it is left with no recourse but to impose measures that will mitigate the impact of these developments on the consumers.
Congestion charges and other applicable fees already collected for the billing months of June to August 2021 shall be refunded to the customers within a period equivalent to the number of months covered by the collections, it added.
As such, the collection of two months’ congestion and related charges shall be refunded no more than two months, the ERC ordered.
“Submit to the ERC not later than Sept. 23 a detailed report on the congestion charges and other applicable charges already collected and paid to the generation companies and the billing period covered, as well as the charges already billed but not yet collected,” Devanadera told Pulido.
The Cebu-Negros 138kV Line 1 tripped on June 15 due to the damage caused by the DPWH on one of the lines of the Cebu-Negros submarine cable during an amphibious dredging in the mouth of the Bio-os River in Brgy. Pondol, Amlan in Negros Oriental.
This resulted in the decreased transfer capacity of the submarine cable, resulting in congestion that limits the available supply of electricity. To compensate for the load required, costlier diesel plants have been tapped, setting the marginal costs that define the current pricing in Negros and Panay.-CGC
