Power rate hike looms

By Teresa Ellera

Thursday, June 7, 2012

THE Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) may impose the recovery charge approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Lawyer Arnel Lapore, president of Ceneco, said that other distribution utilities have already imposed the increase in May.

This came after the ERC on March 26 allowed the National Power Corporation (NPC) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) to recover under the Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism (Gram) and Incremental Currency Exchange Rate Adjustment (Icera) Mechanism their incremental fuel and purchased power costs and foreign exchange costs incurred during the period from January 2007 up to April 2010.

These recoveries under the Gram and Icera mechanisms will be collected through the imposition of P0.6904 per kilowatt hour for Luzon, P0.6060 per kilowatt hour for Visayas and P0.0442 per kilowatt hour for Mindanao.

The Gram and Icera rate adjustments based on ERC order was effective March 26 to April 25 billing period and valid until the deferred accounting adjustment (DAA) amounts approved by the ERC will be fully recovered.

Based on ERC explanation, these fuel, purchased power and foreign currency costs are legitimate costs already incurred by NPC and Psalm in their supply of power to their various customers. By law, they are entitled to recover these costs as part of the price of electricity they sell to their customers.

Lapore said they expect the official communication from Psalm about the increase this week so that they can impose such adjustment.

Published in the Sun.Star Bacolod newspaper on June 07, 2012.    source