CONSUMERS of Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. (Davao Light) have collectively expressed their mixed sentiments on the slight increase in its overall power rate starting January 2024.
Their call to have a transparent advisory before imposing such a rate comes after the major electric company provider in Davao City announced that the increase is mainly attributed to higher market prices that pushed the generation rate up, prompting them to immediately apply it to the bills received from January 11 to February 10, this year.
“The increase was driven by the higher cost of power from Independent Power Producers to whom Davao Light sources part of its supply requirement. The distribution utility sources more than 50% of its power requirements from non-renewable sources such as coal, while nearly 50% is from renewable sources such as hydropower — a cheaper source — which remains unaffected by the volatility of world market prices,” as stated in their advisory on Thursday, January 25.
Noriza Mabanding, 27, a full-time virtual assistant for almost a year now, revealed to SunStar Davao in an interview that despite a minor increase, it has still impacted their energy usage and that sacrifices just to save some energy have been already made particularly by setting a schedule on when to use their appliances.
“Maka-consume gyud og dako nga electric bill akoang trabaho maong pag mu-decrease gamay, malipay nako apan sa pagkakaron, dili gihapon nato easy-easy-hon ang marginal increase kay even a point percentage increase matters. Dili lalim mag-sige og schedule og gamit sa atoang mga appliances just to save” Mabanding said in a phone interview.
(My work really consumes so much electricity that is why even a small decrease would make me happy. However, we should not easily overlook the marginal increase because even a percentage increase matters. It is so difficult to set a schedule for using our appliances just to save).
Meanwhile, Jenalyn Manguiob, 23, a resident of Shrine Hills, Matina, is unhappy with the advisory, saying it affects their small poultry and agriculture business.
However, she understood the globalization of markets and that conserving energy should be considered in times like this.
“Bisag gamay kaayo ang increase syempre, sad gihapon sa akoang part kay naa kini epekto sa amoang business. Pero, kasabot man ko sa system sa international market. Dapat kabalo ta mag-save og energy and it is a collective responsibility” she said.
(Even though the increase is very small, of course, it saddens me because it has an effect on our business. But, I also understand the international market system. We should know how to save energy and it is a collective responsibility.)
As of press writing, residential customers will notice a minor increase in their bills due to a P0.0774 per kWh increase in the overall electricity rate. It has increased from P8.74/kWh in December 2023 to P8.82/kWh this year.
For households with an average monthly electricity consumption of 200 kWh, an increase of P15.48 will be experienced. DEF