PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, (PNA) — Based on the permit given by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Palawan Electric Cooperative (Paleco) can start collecting P0.862 per kilowatt hour from its consumers in October until after 84 months.
Rohima Sarra, general manager of electric distributor Paleco, said all residential member-consumer-owners (MCOs) that are connected to the main grid will be affected by this mark-up.
The main grid is supplying MCOs in Puerto Princesa City, and the municipalities of Aborlan, Narra, Sofronio Española, Brooke’s Point, Bataraza and Quezon.
“The collection aims help the National Power Corporation (NPC) recover its P50,653,991.60 loss, including the value added tax amounting to P6,078,478.99 because of overbilled discounts given to residential consumers that costs P0.30 per kilowatt hour known as Power Act Reduction,” Sarra said.
She added that this is with regards to the ER Board Resolution No. 2001-004, which compels all electric distribution utilities in the Philppines to give a P0.30/kwh discount if the electric supply is from the NPC.
“According to the resolution, if there are other plants that supply aside from the NPC, the cost of PAR should be calculated equivalent to the supply it is providing and not the whole P0.30 centavos per kilowatt hour,” she said.
Apart from NPC, the main grid gets electric supply from the Palawan Power Generation Inc. (PPGI) since November 2008, and Delta P Inc. since April 2009. Since then until September 2012, the whole P0.30/kwh amount was already deducted from the sold electricity to residential consumers from electric supply of PPGI and Delta P.
“This is the cause of the loss of the NPC, and right now, the NPC is no longer supplying power to the main grid because its contract already expired in March 2003,” she said.
Starting October 2013, Paleco consumers will see in their billing the term “PAR recovery” amounting to P0.0862 per kilowatt hour, she stated.