Negros Occidental power rates hiked

BACOLOD – The three electric cooperatives in Negros Occidental have increased power rates this month, ranging from 13 to 52 centavos per kilowatthour due to the increase in feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All).

Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) Corporate Planning Manager Leomel Tambanillo said that there was an increase of R0.5189/kWh on the electric bill of “affected consumers” from R11.1830 last May to R11.7019 this month, while that of “unaffected” consumers was also hiked by R0.5223/ kWh from R10.8792 to R11.4015.

Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) has also increased its rate by R0.16/kWh this June from R11.0306 in May to R11.1906, according to its general manager Jonas Vizcaya.

Northern Negros Electric Cooperative Corporate (NONECO) Planning Manager Paul Almedilla also said the cooperative’s rates have also increased by R0.1312/kWh, from R11.6564 to R11.7876 this month.

All of them said that the increase was primarily due to the implementation of additional FIT-All rate, which serves as a payment of the government to the renewable energy plants under the FIT system.

Tambanillo said that they had to impose the increase in generation charge due to the increasing demand from the consumers, citing as an example CENECO which, by itself, already experienced a surge in demand of up to 150 megawatts in a month.

He also explained that other factors that led to increase in power rates were the adjustments made by Central Negros Power Reliability Inc., and Kepco-Salcon Power Corporation, and recovery of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).

He added that despite the increase, CENECO consumers are assured that the cooperative was doing its best to minimize or prevent brownouts. in May