ERB okays Batangas power rate increase

Ruling that electric cooperatives must be "self-sufficient and less dependent on loans," the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) has allowed the Batangas II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Batelec II) to collect an additional 23 centavos per kilowatt-hour from consumers to cope with its financial needs.

The adjustment was approved by the ERB on the petition of Batelec II to reformat its rate and comply with the government’s prescribed guidelines. The order to adjust the rate was issued unanimously by all five ERB members led by Chairman Melinda Ocampo.

With the additional 23 centavos which will be reflected in next month’s electric bills, the effective rate for residential consumers of Batelec II will be P4.6497 per kilowatt-hour.

A comparison made by the ERB in its order showed that at P4.6497, the rate of Batelec II is about five centavos lower than the 1999 rate of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) at P4.6940 per kilowatt-hour, and about 17 centavos less than the rate of the Quezon Electric Cooperative, Inc. at P4.8671.

Records showed that Meralco, the biggest private electric firm in the country, still has a pending petition with the ERB for a 30-centavo increase in its basic rate.

The ERB said that the increase allowed for Batelec II will not be made on the cooperative’s basic power rate as it should be reflected in the power purchased adjustment (PPA), a cost component incorporated in the electric bills of consumers.

The PPA is a government-authorized component in the determination of the effective power costs paid to the National Power Corp. (NPC) by electric utilities to cover, among other things, for fluctuations in the peso-dollar exchange rate and the cost of fuel.