(UPDATED WITH CORRECTIONS) SOME residential consumers of the Cebu Electric Cooperative-I (Cebeco I) in southern Cebu voiced concerns about an upcoming increase in power rates recently announced by the power utility distributor.
In an advisory released on Thursday, July 25, 2024, Cebeco I informed that electricity bills will rise by 54.83 percent per kilowatt hour (kWh), bringing the average bill from P8.59 per kWh in June to P13.30 per kWh in July.
The increase in power rates is due to a directive from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which mandated that generation charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) be divided into four installments over June, July, August, and September.
This order, detailed in ERC case number 2024-017 MC, was issued on Tuesday, July 2. It requires electric distribution utilities like Cebeco I to comply.
Samuel Ferolino, 25, a freelance graphic artist from Moalboal, Cebu, expressed worry about the announcement.
“As a consumer whose main resource for work is electricity, it’s a bit alarming that I may suffer a potential loss in my income. It may or may not be significant for now, but it will be alarming in the long run if the rise of cost would still go up,” he told SunStar Cebu.
Ferolino stressed that as a family member who also pays for their electric bill, a percentage increase per kWh would be a burden. He said higher electricity costs could force families to cut back on appliances and adjust their budget for other expenses.
“Hopefully, CEBECO I will reduce the cost in the next months and will be lenient to the most affected consumers,” he added.
Elisa Tacle, a single mother of seven from Moalboal, voiced her concern in an interview, saying, “How can I budget my salary?” With three of her children now adults and four still dependent on her, she is considering solar panels to save on electricity costs but finds them too expensive.
“Sa akoa lang, para ma less ang sa kuryente, dili na lang sa mi mag pulaw ug suga ani sa gawas, nya off nalang sa ang refrigerator (My strategy to reduce electric use, we will turn off the lights outside the house and minimize the use of the refrigerator),” said Tacle.
CEBECO I said that the effective rate varies in every municipality due to real property tax.
Generation Charge
Generation Charge is the cost of electricity supply generated and sold to CEBECO I from the different power plants or power suppliers it has acquired.
WESM is a market for the sale and exchange of electricity supply based on the law R.A. 9136.
As a distribution utility, CEBECO I also gets power supply from WESM, apart from their contract with other power suppliers.
Cebeco 1 covers 18 local government units in southern Cebu; Barili, Dumanjug, Ronda, Alcantara, Moalboal, Badian, Alegria, Malabuyoc, Santander, Oslob, Boljoon, Alcoy, Dalaguete, Argao, Sibonga, Carcar City, Alegria, and Ginatilan. / CDF
UPDATE: This article has been updated to correct the figure on the percentage increase of power rate per kilowatt hour, reflected in the second paragraph, from 1.14 percent to 54.83 percent.