Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said on Monday, January 9, that he will seek a rebate on consumers’ electricity bills if it is discovered that a coal-fired power plant overcharged Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO).
Benitez has asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to investigate why two different contract prices were charged for the purchase of power by CENECO from Palm Concepcion Power Corp. (PCPC).
Under a 35MW 10-year contract PCPC charged CENECO P14.6 per KWH and under a 20MW 1-year contract it charged P10. 27 per KWH.
Benitez wants ERC to investigate where PCPC is buying its coal.
He pointed out that under the Newcastle Index coal sourced from Australia is much more expensive than that sourced from Indonesia.
Benitez said he wants to know if PCPC is buying its coal from Australia that is at about $405 per ton compared to Indonesia’s about $135 per ton.
If it is charging a higher rate based on the Australian price while sourcing its coal from Indonesia then a rebate should be paid, he said.
Central Negros Electric Cooperative officials at a press conference on Monday said they support the call of the mayor for ERC to determine where the coal is being purchased.
CENECO president Jojit Yap, lawyer Chuchie Destriza – Office of the General Manager OIC and Norman Pollentes – corporate planning manager, said a call for the ERC to determine where coal used by coal-fired plants is sourced had also been made by them during a Congressional hearing.
Fuel cost is the root cost of the high electricity rates, which is beyond the control of CENECO, Pollentes said.
Deztriza noted that the price of electricity from coal-fired power plants in Mindanao were lower because they are not based on the Newcastle index.
The coal-fired power plants do not disclose to the cooperatives where they source the coal and how much it cost, only ERC can determine that, Destriza said.
She said they agree with the mayor that the rates of the power generators should be reduced.
Destriza said they were informed by PCPC that power rates could go down next month.*