THE Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. (CENECO) announced Monday, December 19, that its residential rates for the month of December slightly dropped by .09 centavos.
National Electrification Administration project supervisor and general manager Atty. Vic P. Alvaro said the rate for this billing month placed at P16.2006 per kilowatt hour from P16.2972/kWh in November, citing a decrease of P0.0966 per kWh.
The reduction in rates was attributed to total net reduction in generation charges by 1.19% due to decrease in CENECO’s power supplier price as well as decrease in fuel cost, as well as decrease in rate of other pass-through charges such as Lifeline & Senior Citizen Subsidies, GRAM ICERA Adjustment and VAT, he said.
He stressed the pass-through charges equivalent to P15.0140/kWh of the total power rate include the generation and transmission charges, Energy Regulatory Commission-approved adjustments, government subsidies, and taxes.
Alvaro added that only P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to CENECO through distribution, supply, metering (DSM) charges, and reinvestment fund for sustainable expenditure for its administrative and operational services.
To monitor the monthly electricity usage, consumers are advised to look at their kilowatt-hour consumption instead of the amount alone, as the amount may vary depending on the pass-through charges.
With the world market fuel prices remaining volatile, the CENECO board urged its consumers to conserve energy to avoid paying high electricity bills.
Since 2010, CENECO’s DSM and RFSC rate has not increased.* (PR)