With higher excise tax on coal, Ceneco warns of power rate hike

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BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – In light of the tax reform law, Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) may raise its rates effective next month.

Republic Act 10963, or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, increased the excise tax on coal, and this will have an impact on the coal-dependent Ceneco, said General Manager Sulpicio Lagarde Jr.

Member-consumers may have to prepare for higher electricity bills starting with the period Feb. 26 to March 25, Lagarde warned.

They will pay “possibly about P.5 per kilowatt-hour” more, he said.

Since December 2017 Ceneco has been charging its residential member-consumers P10.0318 per kilowatt-hour.

“About 80 percent of the power Ceneco generates is from coal plants,” said Lagarde.

Of the cooperative’s power base load, 99 megawatts were derived from coal while 20 megawatts were from a geothermal source, he explained.

Coal is currently cheaper than geothermal and hydro but with the higher excise tax, the former might get way pricier than the latter two electrical power sources, the cooperative official said.

Under the TRAIN law, an excise tax of P50 per metric ton will be imposed on coal in the first year of implementation – up from the previous P10.

It will increase further to P100 in the second year and P150 in the third and succeeding years.

The coal tax has been unchanged since 1988 while the local industry has been exempted from paying excise tax since 1976.

Excise taxes will also be charged on fuel.

This year a P2.50-per-liter excise tax will be charged on diesel. This will be raised to P4.50 the following year and P6 in 2020.

Liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, will be taxed P1 per kilo this year and will be increased to P2 pesos the following year and to P3 pesos in 2020.

The excise tax on regular and unleaded premium gasoline will be raised to P7 this year from the current P4.35. This will be increased to P9 in 2019 and P10 in 2020.

Unlike coal, there is no value-added tax on geothermal and hydro power sources, Lagarde noted.

Meanwhile, Ceneco has energized 29 households in Purok Tapulanga, Barangay Bagroy, Bago City, Negros Occidental as part of its Sitio Electrification Program, or SEP.

The initiative was led by District 6 director Robert Javellana and Bago Field Office area manager Cherish Mae Millevo./PN
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