Napocor seeks to recover P4.21 B under GRAM

MANILA, Philippines - The National Power Corp. (Napocor), the state-owned power company, has filed a petition with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to recover its fuel, purchased power and foreign exchange costs.

In its petition, Napocor asked the ERC to allow it to recover P4.206 billion under the generation rate adjustment mechanism (gram).

Napocor said its GRAM recovery would translate to an increase in the power rates in Small Power Utilities Group (SPUG) areas amounting to P1.4767 per kilowatt-hour in Luzon, P1.4695 per kwh in the Visayas and P1.7971 per kwh in Mindanao.

If approved, Napocor’s petition would translate to higher charges for power consumers in missionary areas.

In its petition, Napocor also asked the ERC to recover P14.48 million equivalent to P0.0242 per kwh for a 12-month period, mainly for foreign exchange fluctuations.

In justifying its petition, Napocor said it incurs additional operating costs as a result of the fluctuation of fuel prices, purchase power costs and fluctuation of the foreign exchange.

As mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, Napocor is allowed to recover costs through GRAM and through ICERA, particularly for the foreign exchange adjustments. 

Napocor’s two separate applications cover the billing period from January to December 2012. The state-owned power corporation is asking for a provisional authority, saying that since the expenses were already incurred in 2012, there is a need to immediately recover the rate adjustment.

This, Napocor said, would “help alleviate the operational funding of the applicant.”