Power rates go up next month

MANILA, Philippines, October 25 ------ The Energy Regulatory Commission has approved another hike in the feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All), this time a steep 74.3 percent increase set to hit consumers starting next month.

ERC chairman and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan announced a new rate of P0.2073 per kilowatt-hour for November power bills, up from the current P0.1189 per kWh FIT-All collection. The latest adjustment pushes this year’s total rate hike to P0.1235 following the P0.0351 per kWh increase implemented in March. “There are difficult decisions we need to make because we have issued policies regarding the implementation of the FIT system as mandated by law,” Juan told a press briefing yesterday.

As such, in deciding for the new rate, the ERC has considered the required capital to pay a P19.06-billion FIT differential and build a P3.74-billion working capital allowance as a buffer. Sought for insights, economist Bienvenido Oplas Jr. claimed that the latest FIT-All rate adjustment would be “bad for the consumers.” “Consumers need guaranteed low prices with stable power supply, not guaranteed high prices for 20 years under the FIT (system),” Oplas told The STAR.

Consumer group National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore), meanwhile, urged the ERC to explore alternative mechanisms to fund FIT obligations. “Every additional rate hike directly harms households and businesses, particularly those with tight budgets or high electricity usage,” Nasecore president Pete Ilagan said in a letter to the ERC, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR.

Ilagan also called for the full disclosure and detailed explanation of the methodology, assumptions and calculations used to determine the FIT-All Fund shortfall. “If ERC fails to release the audit and provide proper documentation and accountability, it can only mean a failure of regulatory oversight. Consumers deserve to see how their money is collected and utilized,” he stressed.

Source: philstar.com