Power costs seen to drop

Electricity prices are expected to go down in the next few months following the decision of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to approve the time-of-use (TOU) rates of the National Power  Corp. (Napocor).

“The ERC paved the way to lower electricity rates with the offering of Napocor’s TOU rates to qualified customers. This took effect on Feb. 1, 2008,” ERC chairman Ro-dolfo Albano Jr. said.

The TOU rates pertain to the cost of power billed based on hourly generation rates.

Albano said the TOU concept, which helps even out electricity demand during peak and off-peak period and rainy/dry seasons, seeks the efficient use of generation resources.

“Lower rates will be enjoyed by electricity consumers who are able to shift their demand from the peak period to the off-peak period,” he said.

The ERC also directed distribution utilities (DUs) to offer to their customers the TOU rates on a voluntary basis.

Customers availing of the TOU program will be installed a special electric meter, at the customer’s cost, to enable the DU to bill on a time-sensitive system.

The ERC also instructed the DUs to conduct consumer education programs to describe the benefits of the TOU rates and consumer orientations to explain the nature and the provisions of the TOU contract.

As this developed, Albano said the ERC is poised to issue a separate set of rules for DUs, such as Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) that have other power sources apart from Napocor.

“The customers of Meralco and DUs similarly situated will enjoy the benefit of TOU rates,” he said.

He said the ERC is continually seeking for ways to reduce electricity rates charged to end-users to keep up with its mission of promoting and protecting long-term consumer interests.

“This will be in terms of a sustainable supply of reasonably-priced quality electricity to help the country move towards a brighter future,” he said.

Meralco customers with minimum electricity consumption of 1,000 kilowatthours can avail of its TOU rates.