Consumers of the Negros Oriental II Electric Cooperative (Noreco II) are expected to see lower electricity rates in their next billing cycle following government interventions to address the power situation in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Noreco II general manager Fe Marie Tagle, in a press conference in Dumaguete City Sept. 24, said the September billing has already been computed, but the succeeding billing will reflect the reduction.
“The decrease in power rates is primarily due to reductions in generation charge, including its value-added tax (VAT), transmission charge including VAT, ancillary services, and system loss charge including VAT,” Tagle said.
Noreco II’s power rates for August and September were P15.0867 and P14.3522 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), respectively, for residential consumers; P14.1587 and P13.5024 per kWh for low-voltage consumers, including commercial, industrial, public buildings, irrigation and street lighting; and P11.6196 and P10.9692 per kWh for high-voltage consumers.
Tagle said the cooperative expects the next billing cycle to reflect a reduction of about P0.73 per kWh for residential consumers and P0.65 per kWh for low- and high-voltage consumers.
She said Noreco II has undertaken measures to protect consumers from power price volatility, including participation in the Joint Aggregated Competitive Selection Process under the Luzon and Visayas Electric Cooperatives Aggregation.
The initiative seeks to leverage the collective buying power of electric cooperatives to secure lower power rates and minimize exposure to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Noreco II is also pursuing embedded generation partnerships to secure an additional 17 megawatts (MW) of electricity supply from two power firms.
These include a 10-MW embedded generation facility with Pi Energy and a 7-MW right of first refusal for an embedded solar farm with local generation company PhilSouth Green Energy.
The additional supply is expected to become available by mid-2027 and will be delivered directly to Noreco II consumers without passing through the transmission grid.
Tagle said the arrangement would help reduce transmission charges and cushion consumers from fluctuations in WESM prices.
Noreco II is also advocating the net metering to encourage consumers to generate their own electricity through renewable energy, particularly solar power, and feed excess electricity into the grid in exchange for bill credits.
The cooperative is likewise seeking approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission for staggered billing and payment schemes to cushion consumers from sudden increases in spot market prices.
Tagle said Noreco II’s distribution development plan includes ongoing and planned projects for 2027, including additional substations, distribution line enhancement projects, and upgrades to existing substations. | PNA
