ELECTRIC consumers of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) may incur higher bills this month as the power distribution utility announced a rate increase of almost P1 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Ceneco caters to the largest number of electric consumers in the province including cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay and Silay, and towns of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto.

The cooperative, in an advisory, said its power rate for July is P10.4935 per kWh.

The amount is P0.95 per kWh higher than P9.5429 per kWh last month.

Ceneco acting manager and project supervisor Dan Pondevilla said the higher rate for this month is attributed to the increase in generation, transmission and systems loss charges.

Increases in other pass-through charges such as lifeline and senior citizen discount, Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism (Gram) and Incremental Currency Exchange Rate Adjustment (Icera) adjustment, and value-added tax (VAT) were also noted.

"The pass-through charges equivalent to P9.3069 per kWh of the total power rate include generation and transmission charges, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-approved adjustments, government subsidies and taxes," Pondevilla said.

He added that only P1.8866 per kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco through Distribution, Supply, Metering (DSM) charges and Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable Capex (RFSC) for its administrative and operational services.

In monitoring their electricity usage, consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption and not the amount.

Ceneco Board and management continue to remind consumers to conserve energy to avoid paying higher electricity bills.