CENTRAL Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco), Inc. announced on Friday, March 17, 2023, that the average residential rate for the billing month of March 2023 has decreased to P13.6716 per kilowatt hour (kWh), down by P1.2040/kWh from the previous month's rate of P14.8756/kWh.

The decrease in the electricity rate is due to a reduction in Palm Concepcion Power Corporation's (PCPC) fuel cost for its 20MW power supply agreement, which led to a downward adjustment of P3.68/kWh.

PCPC's 35MW fuel cost dropped from P9.9440/kWh to P9.6821/kWh, or decreased P0.2619/kWh. Moreover, PCPC extended a fuel discount of P1.05/kWh for the February 2023 billing for its 35MW power supply agreement.

Ceneco's pass-through charges, equivalent to P12.4850/kWh of the total power rate, include generation and transmission charges, ERC-approved adjustments, government subsidies, and taxes.

Meanwhile, only P1.1866/kWh of the power rate goes to Ceneco through Distribution, Supply, Metering (DSM) Charges for its administrative and operational services and Reinvestment Fund for Sustainable CAPEX (RFSC). It is worth noting that Ceneco's DSM and RFSC rate has remained unchanged since 2010.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) resolved the feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) for the six months from March 2023 until August 2023, with a reduced P0.0420/kWh from P0.2237/kWh to P0.1817/kWh. The reduction in FIT-All allocation will benefit consumers, with savings in electricity costs.

Ceneco serves the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Talisay, and Silay, as well as the municipalities of Murcia and Salvador Benedicto in the province of Negros Occidental, with a total consumer base of 390,590, as of January 2023.