• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) said Oct. 21 that its average residential rate this October also decreased, similar to earlier announcements from Ceneco and Noceco.
Noneco said its member-consumers will pay P14.1503 per kilowatt-hour of electricity usage, or a decrease of P0.8907/kWh from last month’s rate of P15.0410/kWh.
The net decrease in the electricity rates is due to the completion of staggered payments of the June 2024 WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) bill, in compliance to an order from the Energy Regulatory Commission.
The ERC approved June 13 the staggered payment for electricity purchased in the spot market by distribution utilities (DUs) like Noneco, for four months, “to mitigate the impact of high generation rates, particularly for consumers of DUs with high WESM exposure amid the recent heat waves in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and a series of red and yellow alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids.”
Noneco also said the P1.0640/kWh reduction in the price of electricity traded in WESM, from P9.5864 in September, likewise contributed to lower residential rate this month.
Ceneco and Noceco earlier said the decrease in their October residential rates was due to lower generation and WESM charges.
Residents of Bacolod City, as well as Bago, Talisay, Silay, Murcia, and Don Salvador Benedicto will be paying P11.0674/kWh this billing month, or about 60 centavos less than what they’ve paid in September, Ceneco said.
Noceco, meanwhile, announced a P1.6334/kWh decrease in its rate, which means that its member-consumers will pay P12.9131 this month, from the P14.5465/kWh in September. | CGC
