BACOLOD City – Citing power generation charges, the Power Watch Negros (PWN) is calling for collaborative efforts in tackling this added form of injustice to the consumers by promoting fairness, accountability and transparency in the energy sector.
PWN secretary general Wennie Sancho said one factor in the recent increase in electricity rate was the high generation rates due to price hike in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in April.
This was brought about by “power supply concerns” which is a euphemism for yellow or red alert, he added.
A red alert is raised when there is insufficient power supply in the grid resulting to power interruptions.
Sancho lamented that the generation charges will be shouldered by the consumers, who are also reeling from inflation.
“The consumers should not pay for it. It is an added form of injustice to consumers who are suffering from the inconvenience brought about by blackouts, insufficient ancillary services, ineffective system operations, under capacity, and power plant shutdowns,” Sancho claimed.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and Department of Energy (DOE) should assess the feasibility of retiring these unreliable and obsolete power generation plants that have been experiencing recurring outages on annual basis, the power group said.
“It would seem to appear that the planned and unplanned outages of most power generation plants are happening in concert. We hope these were not deliberate actions,” Sancho said.
Without accountability mechanism in place, he said power generation companies do not have the incentive to improve their services by maintaining their power plants in good condition, training and hiring experts that can respond quickly to unplanned outages, and purchasing spare parts and equipment needed for breakdowns, among others.
Sancho added that erring power producers should be penalized, even including revocation of their certificate for compliance and/or endorsement for their gross incompetence in failing to provide a crucial service in the midst of power crisis.
Meanwhile, Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) acting general manager Arnel Lapore said during the meeting of the general managers of electric cooperatives held in Iloilo City on May 17, among those discussed were power rate hike mitigation measures such as the suspension of the 12 percent value added tax.
Earlier this week, Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has appealed to the DOE to consider implementing a price cap in response to a significant increase in electricity rates.
Here, the rate is now P15.1632 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up from P11.9566 last April — an increase of approximately P3 per kWh.
The city mayor expressed concerns over the burden on consumers and has suggested that the price cap not only apply locally but also be considered on a national scale, given that similar rate increases are affecting other areas.
According to Benitez, the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, or Republic Act 9136, allows for such regulatory measures to protect consumers from excessive electricity prices during periods of market volatility or supply shortages.
The ERC has the authority to enforce these caps./PN
