THE power rates of Davao Light and Power Corporation (DLPC) continue to decrease in March as power generators have also decreased their rates.
On March 21, DLPC released an advisory that the current power rate for residential clients is P11.14 per kilowatt hour (kWh), which is P0.38 cheaper than the power rates in February.
This could reduce the total bill of a household with an average monthly consumption of 200 kWh by P76.
DLPC president and chief operating officer Rodger Velasco said on Wednesday, March 29 during a media forum that the lower rates will take effect starting mid-March until next month.
Velasco explained that the lower rates are due to the Philippines’ Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao and the lower prices from the coal suppliers of DLPC. He added that DLPC’s participation in WESM started last January.
“Naa ta oversupply karon (We have an oversupply right now) but don’t rely that it will be cheaper WESM forever. It’s still dictated by demand and supply. As long as the oversupply is still there and there will be no outages from the suppliers, it will be stable,” Velasco said.
As of now, there is an oversupply of around 1,000 megawatts in Mindanao from the total supply of some 3,000 megawatts since the island region only has a demand of around 2,000 megawatts.
Fortunately, Velasco said that the global crude oil prices are also going down relative to last year’s US$ 400 per metric ton versus the normal price of $60 to $80 per metric ton.
With this, rates may remain stable relative to the prices of WESM and other coal suppliers. If it stabilizes, power rates may remain low or even decrease.
“The energy demand in 2019 is now up by three percent. (In terms of our economy), we are growing already, returning to normal. In fact, there’s growth in all sectors of our customers - residential, commercial, and industrial,” Velasco said. ICM