POWER rate for the billing month of August 2023 dropped to Php8.7934 with a decrease of a whooping Php 3.6813 per kwh. This is equivalent to a Php368.13 savings for a member-consumer-owner who consumes 100 kwh monthly.
Why the sudden decrease, you may ask?
Based on historical data of the power rate for year 2023, the coop’s power rate averages to Php14 in the past seven months. This was highly due to the war between Russia and Ukraine that initiated the upsurge in prices of commodities as well as the coal needed to operate the power plants generating power which is supplied to us.
As the war is finally coming to its end, prices in the global market slowly stabilizes. The world is gradually going back to its normal operation. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of charges for the billing month of August:
Generation charge went down by Php1.2050 due to the following factors: charges from the power supplier, GN Power Dinginin, decreased by Php0.0557 per kwh because of the lower coal price in the world market; Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) went down by Php0.9109 per kwh as demand decreased due to onset of rainy season in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. Transmission and other charges—including taxes and subsidies—also decreased by Php2.4763. Collection of Universal Charge in the amount of Php0.0239 per kwh was stopped effective August 2023 billing due to completion of the 12 months collection period. Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL) was suspended until August 2023 billing.
The most significant reason for the sudden drop in power rate is the usage of the Revised Template of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in the computation of monthly pass-through charges wherein the monthly over-under recoveries were already computed and adjusted in the billing.
In can be noted that these adjustments were taken up in the billing month of August. The coop is reminding its member-consumer-owners that power rate will go back to the normal Php14 mark in the coming billing months as over-under recoveries were needed to be collected first for it to be computed and adjusted in the billing again.
But for now, let us relish the fact that our power rate for August 2023 is only Php8.7934. But despite it, we are still encouraging everyone to practice energy conservation activities to benefit them and also to help in conserving the Earth.