The residential rates of Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. (CENECO) for January increased by P0.6246 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
Danny Pondevilla, CENECO acting manager, said that the power rate for this billing month was at P10.4696/kWh from P9.8450/kWh in December.
The rate increase was attributed to the hike in the generation, transmission, system loss charges and other pass-through charges such as lifeline, senior, value-added tax, he said.
Part of the adjustment was also the new Feed-in-Tariff allowance which increased to P0.0983/kWh from P0.0495/kWh, he added
The pass-through charges equivalent to P9.2830/kWh of the total power rate including the generation and transmission charges, Energy Regulatory Commission-approved adjustments, government subsidies and taxes, he said.
Only P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to CENECO through distribution, supply, metering charges and the reinvestment fund for sustainable capital expenditure for its administrative and operational services, he added.
In monitoring the monthly electricity usage, consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption and not the amount, that may vary depending on the pass-through charges, he said.
CENECO, which serves the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, and Silay, and towns of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto, reminded its consumers to conserve energy to avoid paying high electricity bills.*