ERC urged to act on Ceneco, EDC petition
BACOLOD CITY — Officials of Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have called on the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to act on the joint petition filed by the Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc. (Ceneco) and the Energy Development Corp. (EDC).
Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez said that Ceneco and EDC filed an application for the approval of a power supply agreement (PSA) on March 15.
“This is to respectfully bring to your attention the strong clamor of consumers in Bacolod City regarding the high-power rates in the recent months,” Benitez told ERC Chairman and CEO Monalisa Dimalanta in a letter.
“After a thorough dialogue with Ceneco officials on the said issue, it is of my understanding that one of the major reasons attributed to the increase of power rates is the inaction of ERC on the joint petition filed by Ceneco and EDC, last March 15, 2024 under ERC Case 2024-038 RC,” the mayor added.
Benitez noted that i”more than 60 days have passed since the filing of this petition and this clearly shows that ERC has not acted on it, resulting in an intolerable increase in our power rates.”
“Considering the extreme urgency of the situation, we beg the indulgence of the ERC to act on the said joint petition expeditiously,” said Benitez.
Benitez also lauded the ERC for “temporarily suspending the operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) under the declaration of red alert of the systems operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.”
“We can expect power prices to lower as the rate freeze is implemented, however, the same has not been implemented in the recent months since the suspension,” he said.
He added that the ERC’s decision to suspend WESM “is very timely and imperative now to provide relief to our already suffering consumers in Bacolod City due to exorbitant electricity bills as of the moment.”
The petition covers 20 megawatts, 10-year power supply agreement.
Ceneco announced the residential rate for May 2024 will be P15.1632 per kilowatt-hour, after a P3.2066/kWh hike.
The power firm cited the significant increase in electricity generation costs and market prices for the increase.
A major contributor to the rate hike for May is a 31.96 percent increase in the generation charge, after WESM also increased its rates from P8.0879/kWh to P12.6706/kWh.
In a separate letter to Dimalanta, acting governor Jeffrey Ferrer also expressed support for the petition of Ceneco.
Ferrer said that “the foremost priority of the provincial government of Negros Occidental is to ensure the continuous and reliable delivery of electricity to the residents and businesses in the province.”
He said that the provisional authority “is crucial given the current energy supply and economic conditions.”
The acting governor pointed out that implementing the PSA between EDC and Ceneco “is essential to safeguarding this priority.”
The PSA is expected to bring down the rates of Ceneco.
“The provincial government of Negros Occidental underscores the urgency of this matter. We trust that the commission recognizes the significant impact of this decision and will act favorably on Ceneco’s motion for the issuance of the provisional authority,” Ferrer said.
Lawyer Arnel Lapore, acting general manager of the power cooperative, said residential rates are expected to go down at the end of the month if the ERC approves its PSA with EDC.
He added that rates will also go down after the WESM had less exposure because of lower demand.
There is a 15 to 20 percent decrease in exposure because of the lesser demand, Lapore pointed out.