DLPC customers can expect higher power bills in Sept.

FOR the month of September, Davao Light and Power Co. customers can expect higher amount in their bill than their August billing.

In August, when the bills were expected to increase as Davao Light implemented its Energy Regulatory Commission approved rate adjustment, the bills instead went down significantly due to application of the refund from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

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The other factor that contributed to the lower August billing was the decrease in the generation charge due to the shift from dry to wet season rate.

The system loss charge consequently also went down due to the reduction in the generation and transmission charges.

In the case of residential customers, instead of the expected average increase in distribution charge of P0.33 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), there was actually an average decrease of 0.2857 per kWh in the overall bill in August.

In September, because the NGCP rates have normalized, the rates will be higher compared to August even if the Davao Light distribution rates are exactly the same.

The upward movement in the rates per kWh for the various customer classes will be as follows: residential P0.3539, commercial P0.2335, small industrial P0.4744, large industrial P0.3042, and street lights P0.3290.

Meanwhile, residential customers whose energy consumption range from 0 to 20 kWh per month have started enjoying a 100 percent lifeline subsidy discount since August, except for the minimum charge of P5 and government charges. Consumers under this bracket used to enjoy only 50 percent discount.