• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco) said July 16 that its average residential rates this billing month increased by P1.38 per kilowatt-hour, mainly due to higher cost of electricity purchased through the spot market and the generation charge.
This means that Noceco member-consumers from Pulupandan, San Enrique, Valladolid, Pontevedra, La Castellana, Moises Padilla, Isabela, Hinigaran, Binalbagan, Himamaylan, Kabankalan, Ilog, Candoni, Cauayan, Sipalay, Hinoba-an, and La Carlota City will pay P13.74/kWh, from last month’s bill of P12.36/kWh.
Noceco said the price of electricity purchased through the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and the staggered payment arrangement with Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) stood at P10.77/kWh this July, from P7.40 in June.
“Without this arrangement, the generation charge alone would have increased by approximately P5.4290 per kWh this month,” its advisory states even as the distribution utility advised its consumers that “the remaining balances under this staggered payment arrangement will continue to be included in future electricity bills, with succeeding recoveries expected until the October 2026 billing”.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), meanwhile, announced a slight increase in transmission rates in the July electricity bills due to the ancillary service (AS) rates.
The average transmission rates increased by 0.77 percent, to P1.46/kWh in June, up from P1.44/kWh in May, and is billed by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives this month.
The AS rates, or pass-through costs for power supplied by power generators during supply-demand imbalance, increased by 10.18 percent, or from P0.72/kWh in May to P0.79/kWh in June, the NGCP said.
“As the system operator, NGCP’s priority is to ensure that the grid remains resilient during supply-demand imbalances,” it said in a statement. “NGCP does not profit from AS charges, as these are remitted directly to the providers that help us maintain the continuous flow of electricity across the country.” | CGC
