Households can expect a lower Aug-Sept bill

CEBU, Philippines — The Visayan Electric announced yesterday that their residential consumers can look forward to a rate reduction of ?0.71 per kilowatt-hour, bringing the total rate to ?12.56/kWh for the August-September billing cycle.

“For a household consuming 200 kWh per month, this translates to a savings of approximately ?142 on their upcoming bill,” VECO said in a statement.

VECO said the reduction is primarily due to a decrease in electricity prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which has helped lower generation costs.

Additionally, it said that the current rate includes the third installment of deferred payments from May, as mandated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) under Order 2024-01MC.

Last June, the ERC issued a directive requiring all distribution utilities nationwide to stagger the payment of May's electricity purchases from WESM across four months, from June to September.

“The ERC implemented this measure to ease the financial burden on consumers following a spike in electricity rates in May, triggered by red and yellow alerts in the power grid,” VECO added.

VECO President and Chief Operating Officer Raul Lucero encouraged consumers to continue monitoring their electricity usage, noting that the staggered payments will impact bills until September.

“While we are benefiting from a decrease in generation costs this month, it's important to make it a habit to be mindful of our electricity use so that we can manage our bill," Lucero said.

As of July 2024, VECO has a total of 460,280 residential customers. VECO’s franchise area covers the cities of Talisay, Naga, Cebu, and Mandaue as well as the towns of Minglanilla, San Fernando, Consolacion, and Liloan. — (FREEMAN)