THE Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco) move to stagger the generation rate hike for June billing cannot be mandated for all electric cooperatives in Luzon and Visayas, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said yesterday.
ERC chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said there was no basis to compel electric coops to defer or stagger the increase, since their suppliers would continue to demand payment for electricity.
A number of electric cooperatives, which are exposed to the wholesale electricity spot market, are forced to pass on to consumers the increase in the price of electricity due to the series of yellow and red alerts in the Luzon and Visayas grids in the past weeks.
According to Dimalanta, cooperatives are non-profit, unlike Meralco and other utilities that earn returns for electricity provided to consumers.
But one cooperative has requested ERC to allow it to stagger the increases. (ABS-CBN News)
