For missionary electrification: ERC okays new power rate hike

CEBU, Philippines - Power consumers have to bear another rate adjustment as the Energy Regulatory Commission provisional approved the petition sought by the National Power Corporation–Small Power Utilities Group.

 In view of this provisional approval, the ERC directed all distribution utilities and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines to collect the Universal Charge-Missionary Electrification charge in the amount of PhP0.0709/kWh per month from its customers starting on the August 2011 billing period and the same be remitted to Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation.

This translates to about 7 pesos for those who consume 100 kilowatt hours of power every month.

 Power distributor, Visayan Electric Company (VECO), however, will start collecting the new rate adjustment in their September billing cycle yet.

 VECO spokesperson Ethel Natera said that the rate adjustment will be on top of the current Missionary Electrification charge of P.0454/kwh or a total of P0.1163/kwh.

 Natera however explained that the said amount does not go to VECO as they are just a collecting agent.

 “Dili na padung sa VECO ang Universal Charge. Igo ra mi mokolekta ana,” Natera emphasized.

The Universal Charge is a non-by passable charge that will be collected from all end-users on a monthly basis by distribution utilities or power suppliers who, in turn, will remit to PSALM on or before the 15th day of the succeeding month.

     Universal Charge is the government’s necessary action to reduce the financial obligations of the NPC that were transferred to PSALM, an agency created under the Electric Power Industry Act (EPIRA) of 2001.

 NPC-SPUG filed its petition last May 19 claiming, among others, that shortfalls are experienced in the course of its operations.

 ERC provisionally granted only the recovery of P4,146,636,906.00 out of the P17,072,239,450.00 sought by the NPC-SPUG through the Universal Charge in order to cover shortfalls in the Missionary Electrification subsidy for calendar years 2003 to 2009.

 The ERC saw the need to provide NPC-SPUG with immediate relief so that it can continue serving power consumers that were not connected to the transmission grid.

 Under the EPIRA law, Section 70, it provides that the NPC, notwithstanding the privatization of its assets, shall continue to perform the ME function through the NPC-SPUG and be responsible for providing power generation and its associated power delivery systems in the areas that are not connected to the transmission system.

 ERC Chairperson Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut, in a statement, said that ERC needs to exercise extreme prudence in granting provisional relief to utilities, like the NPC-SPUG and that there must be sufficient and compelling evidence to lead into the granting of immediate and provisional relief.

 She added that the ERC has to be both responsive and very deliberate in performing its function of protecting the welfare and long-term interest of the electricity end-users without prejudice to the viability of the utility. –/NLQ (FREEMAN)