BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
A slight reduction in power rates for March was reported yesterday by the three electric cooperatives in Negros Occidental.
Jonas Discaya, general manager of the Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative said their residential rate is now at P8.92 per kilowatt hour from P9.39 previously or a difference of 46 centavos.
Discaya said that the main driver of the lower electricity rates this months is the 38 centavo decrease in generation charge that moved from P4.72 per kilo watt hour to P4.34.
He said the P1 reduction on the rate of the generation charge was triggered by the lowered price of power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market where the current average cost is at P2.57 per kilowatt hour from P3.65 last month.
Discaya added that other factors in the reduction of their power rate is the systems loss, transmission rate for residential customers and value-added tax on transmission, among others.
NOCECO, that supplies power from Valladolid to Hinobaan towns in Southern Negros also noted that their distribution, supply and metering charges remain unchanged despite the reduction in the overall electricity rate for this month.
Central Negros Electric Cooperative covering the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Silay and Talisay and the Municipalities of Murcia and Don Salvador Benedicto also reported that their power rate is 6-centavo less compared to last month as it now costs P11.50 per kilowatt hour from P11.56.
CENECO Acting manager Danny Pondevilla attributed the reduction to the decrease in Palm Concepcion Power Corporation fuel cost and also to the lowered price of power from WESM.
Passed-through charges like generation, transmission, systems loss, universal charge, feed-in tariff, life line and Senior citizen subsidies, VAT, supply metering and reinvestment for sustainable capital expenditure program and others, reduced to P11.50 from P11.56 which also played a vital role in the lowered residential rate of the cooperative, Pondevilla said.
Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative that supplies electricity from Victorias to San Carlos City also announced a reduction of residential rate from P10.33 last month to P10.29 or a decrease of 4 centavos.
NONECO section supervisor Anthony Lagarda also pointed out that the reduction in the power rate was caused by the lowered price of power from WESM.*
