Central Negros Electric Cooperative’s electricity rates could go down by 30 to 40 percent in June if the Energy Regulatory Commission issues its requested provisional authority to avail of contracted power from the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), CENECO acting general manager Arnel Lapore said on Wednesday, May 22.
CENECO has a 20 megawatts 10-year supply contract with EDC at P5.56 per kilowatt hour without Value Added Tax (VAT), which it can avail of if ERC grants the coop’s request for a provisional authority, he said.
They filed for a provisional authority on March 15 and are hoping ERC acts on it soon, Lapore said.
If CENECO can begin availing of the 20 megawatts from EDC it will not have to buy power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which prices are at about P12 to 16 per kilowatt hour, Lapore said.
Lapore also said they are also appealing to the national government to intervene. The electricity price hike triggered by the El Niño phenomenon should not be subjected to VAT, he said.
He is positive that the price of electricity could go down next month if the heat index drops as it would reduce power consumption and more hydro power could be delivered, Lapore added.
The increased power consumption for cooling purposes is a major factor in the electricity rate increase, Lapore pointed out.*