Ecozones keep power perk

Business World Online
Posted on January 12, 2012 11:35:09 PM


ECONOMIC ZONE LOCATORS will continue to enjoy discounted, albeit relatively more expensive, power rates following an agreement on a new supply deal.
“There is already an agreement to extend the preferred rates for ecozone firms to one more year or until open access has been declared, but we are still ironing out the nitty-gritty of the contract such as expansion plans and how many megawatts would be needed,” Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia B. de Lima told BusinessWorld yesterday at the sidelines of a bioenergy conference.
“We have also given new rates this year,” Ms. de Lima added. “Last year, the discount given to big power users in ecozones was P1.00 [per kilowatt-hour], but now it’s only going to be P0.25 [per kWh].”
Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM), which had objected to continued discounts given revenue losses, confirmed that a deal had been reached with distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The new transition supply contract (TSC), the state-owned firm said in a statement, will run “for a maximum period of one year or until three months after the introduction of open access and retail competition, whichever comes earlier, subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).”
Meralco and ERC officials were not immediately available for comment.
The existing Ecozone Rate Program (ERP) was set to end last month. An extension to the end of January, however, was agreed upon by PSALM and Meralco to allow the PEZA to determine locators’ expansion plans and power needs.
PEZA-registered firms consuming at least a megawatt per month currently pay basic generation fees of P3.40-3.90/kWh under the expiring TSC, lower than the regular P5-6/kWh. These businesses -- 632 locators in 19 ecozones within the Meralco franchise area -- reportedly saved as much as P1.87 billion last year.
Ms. de Lima said, “The [new] power savings will only come up to more or less a billion pesos. The government will most probably pay for the savings from the preferred rates, but the source of the funding is still under discussion.”
“The economic managers will be the ones reviewing the proposal and making the recommendation to the President [Benigno S. C. Aquino III),” she added.
PSALM President and CEO Emmanuel R. Ledesma, Jr. said regular consumers would not end up shouldering the discounts via higher power rates. -- from a report by EJD