• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative said that its average residential rate this billing month of February increased by P1.0580 per kilowatt-hour.
This means that Noceco consumers will be paying P13.3051/kWh, from last month’s rate of P12.2471/kWh.
The more than one peso hike was mainly due to total generation charge, which increased by P1.1864/kWh, or P7.9150 from the P6.7286/kWh in January.
“Main factor of the increase in generation charge is the P1.5693/kWh hike in the energy cost from Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), from P6.9042/kWh,” Noceco explained in its letter-advisory to local government units in its franchise area dated Feb. 13, and made public this afternoon.
“The yellow alert which began during the grid disturbance last Jan. 2, 2024 greatly contributed to the spike in WESM prices,” it added.
The blackout gripped Panay Island and Negros Occidental starting on the second day of this year, although supply of electricity resumed in the province and Bacolod City Jan. 3.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines later said that transmission operations normalized Jan. 5, after power was fully restored in all affected feeders in Panay Island, following the synchronization of the remaining generating unit PCPC (Palm Concepcion Power Corporation), with a 135-megawatt capacity, to the grid.
Noceco, meanwhile, said it forecast higher electricity rates in the coming months.
“It is expected that electricity prices are usually higher in the hot season when total demand is high because more expensive generation sources are added to meet the increased demand in electricity,” the distribution utility said as it urged member-consumers “to conserve energy and be aware of their energy consumption to avoid paying high electricity bill.”
The increase in January was at P0.4251/kWh, or P12.2471/kWh, from the P11.8220/kWh average rate in December. | CGC
