The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) and Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO) announced a 43-centavo and 7-centavo per kilowatt-hour increase in their respective electricity rates this month.
NOCECO announced that its current electricity rate is at P12.2471/kWh, which is P0.4251/kWh higher than last month’s P11.8220/kWh.
The increase was attributed to the generation charge which is P0.1450/kWh higher than December 2023.
The main factor in the increase in generation charge is the P0.2055/kWh increase in the energy cost from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market from its previous power cost of P6.6987/kWh, NOCECO added.
Palm Concepcion Power Corp. ‘s rates increased from P8.6192/kWh to P8.7831/kWh this month, it said.
NOCECO also said that the transmission rate also increased by P0.1969/kWh.
The electric cooperative also warned of higher electricity rates in the coming months.
“It is expected that electricity prices are usually higher in the hot season”, NOCECO said, “because more expensive generation sources are added to meet the increased demand in electricity”.
Meanwhile, CENECO also announced a P0.0656/kWh increase in its electricity rates from P10.7694/kWh to P10.8350/kWh this month.
The P0.0656/kWh rate hike is due to the increase in average Transmission Charges by 10.35 percent as compared to the previous month, CENECO said.
This is due to the increase in Ancillary Service Charge from P238.3902/kW to P286.4237/kW or an upward adjustment of P48.0335/kW, it said.
NOCECO and CENECO urged their electric consumers to conserve energy and be aware of their energy consumption to avoid high electricity bills.
NOCECO also appealed to the public for their understanding as they continue “to find better solutions to mitigate the impact in electricity prices being experienced by the power industry”.
The Northern Negros Electric Cooperative is yet to announce its electricity rates for January.*