BAGUIO CITY – Members of the Benguet electric Cooperative (BENECO) in its franchise area started enjoying significant reduction in power rates this June billing cycle following the drop in the power generation charges charged by its power supplier for the said billing period.
From the previous P9.29 per kilowatthour being charged to residential consumers, it dropped to P8.17 per kilowatthour while commercial consumers will be charged P7.34 per kilowatthour for the June billing period.
Industrial consumers will be charged P7.31 per kilowathour while public buildings will be charged P7.319 per kilowatthour for the said billing cycle.
Low voltage streetlights will be charged P7.34 per kilowatthour for the 12 burning hours industry standard allowed under existing laws, rules and regulations.
On the other hand, high voltage commercial consumers will be billed P6.04 per kilowatthour while high voltage public buildings will be charged by the rural electric cooperative P6.014 per kilowatthour.
In terms of lifeline rates, BENECO will be charging its consumers who consumed 20 kilowatthours and below P4.9 per kilowatthour which is inclusive of the mandatory discount while consumers who were able to consume 21-25 kilowatthours will be billed P5.79 per kilowatthour.
Consumers who are able to consume 26-3 kilowatthours will be charged P6.64 per kilowatthour while those who are able to register a consumption of 31-35 kilowatthours will be billed P7.50 per kilowatthour.
Lifeline consumers who will consume 36-40 kilowatts will be billed P8.35 per kilowatthour while those having a monthly consumption of 41-45 kilowatthours will be charged by BENECO P8.78 per kilowatthour.
BENECO officials attributed the significant reduction in the power rates for the June billing cycle to the reduced generation charge from its power supplier which was the one that was passed on to the consumers.
According to them, the increase in the power rates for the previous billing cycle was triggered by the fact that its supplier, the Sual-based Tokyo Energy and Marubeni (TEAM) Energy, underwent repairs that allowed it to purchase power from the Wholesale Electricity Stock market (WESM) that was passed on to the rural electric cooperative and other power distribution companies relying on the power supplier as their source of power being sold to their franchise areas.
Engr. Carlo Joel Andres, one of the division heads of BENECO’s Network Services department, claimed that there will be slight reductions in the power rates being charged by the electric cooperative to its consumers in the coming months because of a much lower power generation charge that will be collected by the power supplier pursuant to its power purchase agreement with the distribution utility.
BENECO is one of the top performing rural electric cooperatives in the country that was able to keep its power charges much lower compared to much bigger private power distribution companies.
By HENT