THE Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) has announced an increase of P0.33 per kilowatt hour (kWh) it its power rate this month.
The power distribution utility (DU) caters to the largest number of electric consumers in the province, particularly cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay and Silay, and towns of Salvador Benedicto and Murcia.
Ceneco officer-in-charge general manager Jose Taniongon, in an advisory, said the cooperative's power rate for August is P11.3357 per kWh from only P11.0103 per kWh last month.
The upward adjustment can be attributed to the increase in pass through charges like transmission and generation, universal charges and value-added tax (VAT), among others.
Taniongon said that from a total of P9.8237 per kWh, the cooperative's pass through charges in August moved to P10.1491 per kWh or an increase if P0.3254 per kWh.
Bulk of which accounts for generation, transmission and systems loss charges totaling to P0.2528 per kWh, he added.
The two other DUs in Negros Occidental, meanwhile, noted a drop in their respective power rate this month.
The Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (Noceco), which caters to the southern part of the province, from Pulupandan to Hinoba-an, reported a significant decrease of P1.4994 per kWh.
From P12.2510 per kWh in July, its residential power rate dropped to P10.7516 per kWh.
The main driver of the lower electricity rate this month is the P1.5453 per kWh decrease in generation charge, which moved from P7.1275 to P5.5822 per kWh.
Noceco General Manager Jonas Discaya, also in an advisory, said the lower generation charge was brought about by the reduction in the price of power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Discaya said the current average price is P5.1818 per kWh compared to the previous P8.3416 per kWh.
There were also decreases in the power supply agreement with Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) and Kepco Salcon Power Corporation (KSPC) at P0.1049 and P0.1866 per kWh, respectively.
Also, its systems loss charge registered a decrease of P0.1866 per kWh, he added.
For the remaining cities and towns in the north, the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) announced a decrease of P0.7222 per kWh.
The cooperative's effective rate for August is P11.2045 per kWh, which is lower from P11.9269 per kWh in July.
Paulino Almedelia, corporate planning manager of Noneco, said the decrease mainly resulted from the reduction in WESM price.
Almedelia said aside from a drop of P0.8424 per kWh in generation charge, the cooperative also noted a decrease of P0.0356 per kWh in other charges including taxes.
Though, the transmission charge went up by P0.1558 per kWh, he added.
All three cooperatives again urged consumers to conserve energy and be aware of their energy consumption to avoid paying high electricity bill.