MikeLigalig.com

by Angeline Valencia

Consumers’ complaints against the power rate increase imposed by power distribution utilities prompted the Regional Development Council (RDC)-7 to seek actions from the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ease its impact on livelihood and investments.

Upon the move of Gov. Edgar Chatto, the RDC unanimously agreed to set a special meeting with DOE and ERC officials to look into the pricing formula adopted by power distribution utilities.

In the meeting, components of the electric bills increase will be examined as well as the effect of the increase of prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and high generation cost.

It will be attended by key players of the energy sector in Bohol.

Chatto had earlier brought such concern to power utilities in Bohol such as the Bohol Light Company Inc. (BLCI) and Bohol Electric Cooperative I and II to check the impact of the WESM price increases and the high generation cost to their respective distribution units.

In response, the power distribution utilities in Bohol clarified that they get nothing from the power rate increase reflected in the electric bills of the consumers. They explained that they merely passed on the high generation rate increase and the WESM price increase.

BLCI spokesperson May Hope Arcenal earlier said that the generation charge has increased by 85 centavos per kilowatt-hour.

Another factor that Arcenal cited was the high cost collected by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. and the National Power Corp.

Boheco has imposed an increase of P1.06 per kWh, while BLCI placed it at P1.54 per kWH as reflected in the billing for the months of May and June.

Meanwhile, in its full council meeting held at Bohol Cultural Center on June 28, the RDC-7 approved a resolution endorsing the proposed restructuring of the Energy Regulatory Commission to the Office of the President.

RDC-7, now chaired by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, cited in the resolution that the ERC’s main function is to promote competition, encourage market development, ensure customer choice and penalize abuse of market power in the restructured electricity industry.

This is based on Republic Act No. 9136 or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 that created the ERC as an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body.

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there's a lot to be angry about in these details (we pay for system loss?  whose fault is it when we have nothing to do with their operational loss?).  but i guess this increase is all over, with the imprimatur of malacanang.

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veco in cebu always had higher charges compared to meralco in manila, per my experience.  i've heard cebuanos complain though that some foreign businesses avoid cebu because of its steep power rates.  i cannot compare the rate of boheco in bohol as i'm not knowledgeable about it. 

meanwhile, it is claimed that the philippines has the highest electric rate charges in asia.  i intend to explore the web to find out if this is true.

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Besides Japan, subjected to the study were the utility companies in Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia.

A similar study made by Meralco using the figures in the last quarter of 2008 indicated that until that year, the Philippines was still slightly behind Japan in electric rates.

The disparity in rates between the Philippines and most countries in the rest of Asia was so big that with the exception of Japan and Singapore, what consumers pay elsewhere is just the equivalent of the generation charges that consumers in the Philippines pay. This averages P5 a kilowatt-hour.

The high cost of electricity in the Philippines was traced by the group to the fact that all costs - from producing power to distribution and taxes – are passed on to consumers.

underscoring mine

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