BY MARCHEL P. ESPINA
The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative has increased its rates this July, while there is a minimal drop in the charges collected by the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative.
Jonas Discaya, general manager of Noceco, said the new residential rate for this month is P9.1617 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from P8.5321 per kWh in June, or an increase of P0.6296 per kWh.
He said the main driver of the higher electricity rates this month was the P0.4580 per kWh increase in the generation charge, now at P4.6042 per kWh from P4.1462 per kWh.
He also said there was an increase of P1.1408 per kWh from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, or from P2.3980 per kWh last month to P3.5388 per kWh this month.
Other factors include the increase in value-added tax in the generation rates, system loss rate, transmission rate of residential customers, VAT on transmission rate, and subsidy rates, he said.
The overall rate increase is cushioned by the P0.3607 per kWh reduction of the charges in the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with Palm Concepcion Power Corp., and the P0.0733 per kWh decrease in the PSA with KEPCO SPC Power Corp., he added.
He also said that Noceco’s distribution, supply and metering charges remain unchanged despite the increase in the overall electricity rate for this month.
Noceco caters to electric consumers in the south, from Pulupandan to Hinoba-an.
Paul Almedelia, Noneco corporate planning department manager, said there is a minimal decrease of P0.0076 per kWh in this month’s billing.
He said the rate for July is P9.9791 per kWh, a slight drop from the previous month’s P9.9897 per kWh.
The decrease was attributed to the drop in transmission and system loss charges at P0.0191 per kWh and other charges such as VAT at P0.0046 per kWh. He noted there is a minimal increase in the generation cost at P0.0221 per kWh.
Noneco caters to consumers in the north, from E.B. Magalona to San Carlos City.
Consumers are advised to conserve energy and to be aware of their power consumption to avoid paying high electricity bills.*
