By Paulo Loreto Lim

The Central Negros Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Ceneco) is projecting an over P1.50 hike in power rates for the month of March 2017. Rates are expected to increase from P9.5038 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P11.1669/kWh, a jump of P1.6631/kWh.
Ceneco blamed it on a P1.2595 rise in the generation charge and a P0.1774 in the system loss charge.
Last month, when rates rose around P0.50, the co-op cited the same factors contributed to the upward adjustment.
Earlier this year, when the January 2017 rate saw a nearly P1 increase from the prior month, from P8.0756/kWh to P9.0279/kWh, Ceneco General Manager Sulpicio Lagarde, Jr. previously projected, “I don’t see any increase yet in the coming month.”/WDJ