6 days ago
11
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – Power costs in the Negros Island Region (NIR) surged as electricity distribution utilities imposed sharp rate increases, leaving more than a million consumers faced with higher bills and few explanations beyond the recurring failures of the region’s aging energy infrastructure.
Five power distribution utilities, including billionaire Enrique Razon Jr.’s Negros Power Corporation (Negros Power), have raised their respective electricity rates from 88 centavos to over P2 per kilowatthour (kWh) this April.
The distribution utilities cited four reasons behind the rate increases: higher prices from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), increases in power generation charges and fuel costs, and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
Negros Power, which services the central part of Negros Occidental, including the province’s capital, Bacolod City, is now charging more than 200,000 consumers an average P12.3450/kWh, up from its March rate of P11.4870/kWh, or a P0.8580/kWh increase.
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) and Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO), servicing northern and southern Negros Occidental, respectively, have also increased rates.
NONECO, which covers the cities of San Carlos, Escalante, Cadiz, Sagay, and Victorias, and the towns of Toboso, Calatrava, EB Magalona, and Manapla, now charges an average P15.0705/kWh, up from its March rate of P13.5982, or an increase of P1.4723/kWh.
From its March rate of P13.9595, NOCECO – which serves areas from Bago City down to the southernmost town of Hinoba-an – implemented an average P1.6509/kWh hike, bringing its April rate to P15.6104/kWh.
In Negros Oriental, both the Negros Oriental Electric Cooperative (NORECO) 1 and 2 recorded the highest rate increases so far.
NORECO 1 raised its rate of P11.8149/kWh in March to P13.8439/kWh, or by P2.0290/kWh.
It services the cities and towns of Bais, Mabinay, Manjuyod, Bindoy, Ayungon, Tayasan, Jimalalud, La Libertad, Guihulngan, Vallehermoso, and Canlaon.
From P11.1843/kWh in March, NORECO 2 raised its rate to P13.1251/kWh this April, a P1.9408/kWh increase.
NORECO 2’s coverage includes the cities of Dumaguete, Tanjay, and Bayawan, and the towns of Pamplona, Amlan, San Jose, Sibulan, Valencia, Bacong, Dauin, Zamboanguita, Siaton, Santa Catalina, and Basay.
Stressing that they have no choice because all cited factors are pass-through charges, NONECO general manager Wilbe Bilbao urged consumers to be prudent with their electricity use.
Negros Power, in a statement, stressed that the increase in WESM prices is driven by a combination of lower supply and higher demand during this dry season.
It attributed the situation to planned and forced outages of several power plants, reducing supply across the Visayas.
Negros Power also said the surge in power demand is due to the extreme weather conditions in the Visayas, including Negros Island, that began in early March.
On Wednesday, April 23, Wennie Sancho, president of the Alliance of Concerned Consumers in Electricity and Social Services (ACCESS) in Negros Occidental, told Rappler that many aging power plants in the Visayas are the root cause of the power price hikes.
Sancho said the on-and-off status of power generators – whether for preventive, scheduled, or unscheduled maintenance – leads to supply disruptions that cause spikes in electricity prices.
“All power plants in the country must be updated, ensuring their reliability to somehow avoid the continued electricity price hike, not only in the Visayas or Negros, but also across the country,” Sancho said.
As power plants age, he said, even with maintenance, they cannot operate as efficiently as before.
Frank Carbon, vice president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI), said the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Department of Energy (DOE) should look into the possibility of retiring these unreliable and obsolete power plants.
“Rehabilitation works are expensive, and that is the price we’re paying now,” Carbon said.
Sancho, meanwhile, called on WESM, the country’s electricity spot market, to be more transparent in its operations.
“It would be better if it regularly submits to the ERC or DOE for evaluation for the sake of transparency,” said Sancho, noting that WESM has always factored in the power rate adjustments in the country. – Rappler.com
