Power rates being charged by the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) from its member-consumer-owners (MCOs) slightly dropped by P0.0210 per kilowatt hour for the January billing period compared to the rates during the previous billing period.
From the P10.1461/kwh residential rate last December, the same charge dropped to P10.1251/kwh for the present billing period which would mean a P2.10/kwh reduction in the monthly power bills of MCOs consuming 100 kilowatts and P4.20/kwh for those consuming 200 kilowatts of power.
The slight drop in the January power rates was due to the decline in both the transmission and systems loss charges which are vital components of the power rates of private distribution utilities and electric cooperatives being regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
BENECO’s transmission charge for the present billing period of P0.5673/kwh is P0.0275/kwh lower than the P0.5948/kwh similar charge last December.
Also recording a slight reduction in rate was BENECO’s generation charge for the current billing cycle which was estimated to be P5.7293/kwh that is P0.0002/kwh compared to last December’s generation charge of P5.7295/kwh.
On the other hand, its systems loss charge for January which is P0.5457/kwh is lower by P0.0192/kwh compared to last billing period’s systems loss charge of P0.5265/kwh.
BENECO’s commercial low voltage rate of P9.3235/kwh for the January billing period is lower by P0.0288/kwh compared to last December’s similar charge of P9.3522/kwh.
Further, its industrial rate for the current billing cycle of P9.2921/kwh also dropped by P0.0288/kwh compared to last month’s charge of P9.3208/kwh.
BENECO’s public building low voltage rate for the present billing period which is pegged at P9.2956/kwh is lower by P0.0288/kwh compared to the previous charge of P9.3244/kwh in December last year.
For the streetlights, BENECO’s rate this January of P9.3234/kwh dropped by P0.0288/kwh as compared to the P9.3522/kwh charge for the same during the previous billing cycle.
On the other hand, commercial high voltage and public building high voltage rates increased by P0.0164kwh for the present billing period compared to the same charges during the previous period.
For commercial high voltage rate, the January charge was pegged at P8.1155/kwh compared to last December’s P8.0991/kwh while public building high voltage rate for the present billing period of P8.0877/kwh is slightly higher than the P8.0713/kwh last month.
BENECO, which was able to regain its Class AA status and one of the country’s top performing electric cooperatives, sources its power from the Sual-based coal-fired power plants being operated by TEAM Energy Corporation.
However, its power supply agreement with the generation company is expected to expire this March that is why BENECO is working on a competitive selection process to look for a power supplier that will be able to provide the cheapest generation rate for it to maintain its cheap power rates that is beneficial to the MCOs. By Dexter A. See
