BAGUIO CITY – Residential and commercial power rates in Baguio City and Benguet slightly increased in June compared to similar rates in May because of the increase in the transmission and other charges following the downgrading of the previous general community quarantine (GCQ) to modified GCQ where numerous businesses were allowed to operate even in a limited capacity.
Based on the data obtained from the Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) now headed by General Manager Engr. Melchor S. Licoben, the June residential rates for consumers having a monthly consumption of 101 kilowatt-hours and above was pegged at 7.7654/kwh compared to the 7.6438/kwh in May while commercial power rates for low voltage consumers in June were billed P6.9922/kwh compared to the P6.8678/kwh in May.
Further, industrial low voltage power rates in June also increased to P6.9609/kwh compared to the P6.8364/kwh in May while public building low voltage rates in the same month went up to P6.9645/kwh compared to the P6.8400 in May.
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Low voltage streetlights were billed P6.9922/kwh in June compared to the P6.8678 in May while high voltage commercial consumers were billed P5.4397/kwh in June compared to the P5.3574/kwh in May.
The generation charge in May was P3.8592/kwh before dropping to P3.8059/kwh in June. However, transmission charges for June increased to P0.8705/kwh compared to the P0.8357/kwh in May.
Moreover, systems loss charges in June increased to P0.3993/kwh from P0.3802/kwh in May.
Included in the power rates for June was the feed in tariff of P0.0495/kwh compared to the no similar charges in May.
In March, residential power rates was P7.7669/kwh while commercial low voltage rates was P6.9313/kwh.
BENECO gets bulk of its power supply from the Sual-based TEAM Energy Corporation where its power supply contract will expire in March 2024. The electric cooperative is serving the power distribution requirements of the Baguio and Benguet areas where it was issued a franchise that will also lapse in 2028.
BENECO is also one of the few electric cooperatives in the country that was able to achieve Class AAA status because of its single digit systems loss, 100 percent collection efficiency, intensified implementation of the government’s Sitio electrification Program (SEP) among others.
At present, BENECO is now venturing in the development of available renewable sources of energy that will help in sustaining its efforts to provide cheap power to its consumers.
BENECO is also offering to its consumers one of the cheapest power rates in the country where the same is even much lower compared to the power rates of huge private distribution utilities having a much larger area of coverage than the rural electric cooperative.
One of the renewable energy project being pursued by BENECO is its 3-megawatt minihydro power Man-asok plant in Sebang, Buguias which is expected to be operational on or before the end of the year.
By Hent
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