Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to act on the joint petition of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) and Energy Development Corporation (EDC) that could lower the cost of power in the city.
“I have heard your concerns about the exorbitant electricity bills this month. That is why I have sent a letter to the ERC, asking why they have not acted urgently on the joint petition between Ceneco and EDC, which may have prevented the sudden rise in electricity bills in the city,” Benitez said in a statement yesterday.
Last March 24, both Ceneco and EDC applied for their power supply agreement with a request for provisional authority.
In a letter dated May 27 addressed to ERC chairperson and chief executive officer Monalisa Dimalanta, Benitez said more than 60 days have passed, but ERC has yet to act on the application, “resulting in intolerable increase in our power rates.”
“Considering the extreme urgency of this situation, we beg the indulgence of the ERC to favorably act on the said joint petition expeditiously,” he said.
Ceneco general manager Arnel Lapore said in a radio interview they expect that their supply contract with EDC will soon be approved.
“If they can deliver by June, the rates will be applied in the July billing statement,” he said.
He said with Ceneco’s lower exposure to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) now compared to the past two months, they are “optimistic of a rate decrease in June.”
For the May billing, Ceneco announced an increase of P3.2066 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P15.1632 from only P11.9566 in the previous month.
“The main contributory factor to the rate hike is the increase in generation charge by 31.96 percent, resulting from the increase in WESM price,” it said.
Benitez welcomed ERC’s move to suspend the operation of the WESM under the declaration of a red alert of systems operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to reduce power prices, but noted that it had not been implemented since the suspension.
“The move of ERC to suspend WESM is very timely and imperative now to provide relief to our already suffering consumers in Bacolod City due to exorbitant electricity bills,” he said. (PNA)