Baguio, Benguet power rates up in June

BAGUIO CITY: Residential and commercial power rates in Baguio City and Benguet slightly increased in June compared to similar rates in May because of an increase in transmission and other charges over downgrading of the previous general community quarantine ( GCQ) to modified GCQ, where numerous businesses were allowed to operate even in a limited capacity.

Based on data obtained from the Benguet Electric Cooperative ( Beneco), now headed by General Manager

Melchor Licoben, the June residential rates for consumers having a monthly consumption of 101 kilowatt-hours and above was pegged at P7.7654 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) compared to the P7.6438 per kWh in May, while commercial power rates for lowvoltage consumers in June were billed P6.9922 per kWh compared to the P6.8678 per kWh in May.

Further, industrial low voltage power rates in June also increased to P6.9609 per kWh compared to the P6.8364 per kWh in May, while public building low-voltage rates in the same month went up to P6.9645 per kWh compared to the P6.8400 per kWh in May.

Low- voltage streetlights were billed P6.9922 per kWh in June compared to the P6.8678 per kWh in May, while high-voltage commercial consumers were billed P5.4397/ kWh in June compared to the P5.3574 per kWh in May.

The generation charge in May was P3.8592 per kWh before dropping to P3.8059 per kWh in June. But transmission charges for June increased to P0.8705 per kWh compared to the P0.8357 per kWh in May.

Moreover, systems loss charges in June increased to P0.3993 per kWh from P0.3802 per kWh in May.

Included in the power rates for June was the feed in tariff of P0.0495 per kWh compared to the no-similar charges in May.

In March, residential power rates were P7.7669 per kWh, while commercial low- voltage rates was P6.9313 per kWh.

Beneco gets bulk of its power supply from the Sual- based TEAM Energy Corp., where its power supply contract will expire in March 2024.

The electric cooperative is serving the power distribution requirements of the Baguio and Benguet areas where it was issued a franchise that will lapse in 2028.

Beneco is also one of the few electric cooperatives in the country that was able to achieve Class AAA status because of its single- digit systems loss, 100 PERCENT COLLECTION EFfiCIENCY AND intensified implementation of THE GOVERNMENT’S SITIO ELECTRIfication

Program, among others.

It is venturing in the development of available renewable sources of energy that will help in sustaining its efforts to provide cheap power to its consumers.

Beneco is also offering to its consumers one of the cheapest power rates in the country where the same is even much lower compared to the power rates of huge private distribution utilities having a much larger area of coverage than rural electric cooperatives.

One of the renewable energy projects being pursued by Beneco is its 3-megawatt minihydro power Man-asok plant in Sebang, Buguias, which is expected to be operational on or before the end of the year.