• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative and the two distribution utilities (DUs) serving Negros Oriental power consumers said their residential rates for September have also increased.
Noneco said Sept. 21 that its average residential rate this billing month is P15.0410 per kilowatt-hour, or an upward adjustment of P1.2422/kWh, from the P13.7988/kWh rate in August.
The increment was due to increases in the price of electricity purchased from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, from P9.0412 to P9.5864/kWh; as well as in the Ancillary Service Charge of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which pulled up transmission charges.
The Negros Oriental I Electric Cooperative (Noreco I) said its rate for September increased by P1.8445./kWh, which means that its consumers will pay P15.6984/kWh, from P13.8539 in August.
The DU said there was an increase in the generation charge from WSEM and the transmission charge from the NGCP, and these pass-through charges are shouldered by consumers.
Noreco II, meanwhile, said its residential rate this month is P14.4157/kWh, from P12.7195 in August.
The increase of P1.6962/kWh is due mainly to the rise in generation charge by P0.8003/kWh and its VAT by P0.0578/kWh; transmission charge by P0.5852/kWh and its VAT by P0.0704/kWh; systems loss charge by P0.1675/kWh and VAT by P0.0148; senior citizen subsidy by P0.0001/kWh; and the lifeline rate subsidy by P0.0001/kWh, the DU said.
The final billing also includes the 25 percent generation charge component of the May 2024 billing from the WESM, that has been added to the September 2024 power rate as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission, Noreco II added.
Last week, the Central Negros Electric Cooperative said its average residential rate for this month increased by P0.8504/kWh, or from P10.8380/kWh in August to the current P11.6884.
The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative also hiked its rate by P1.4845 per kWh, primarily due to increased transmission and generation charges.
This means that member-consumer-owners (MCOs) of Noceco will pay P14.5465 each kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed this billing month, from the P13.0620/kWh residential rate in August. | CGC
