June 11, 2024, Tuesday
Sangguniang Bayan Session Hall, President Roxas Capiz
Acting General Manager Engr. Edgar D. Diaz and District III Director Mitchelle John B. Patricio represented in this hearing convened by the Sangguniang Bayan Committee on Public Utilities and facilities to shed light on the issue of increases in the power bills in the month of April and May. CAPELCO was invited to explain the circumstances surrounding the increases in the hope that the lawmakers and the people of President Roxas have a better understanding on the factors and the reasons behind it.
Through a presentation, Engr. Edgar D. Diaz explained that the reason behind are as follows;
• The increase was largely because of the increase in the generation charge brought about by the increases in the power bills of CAPELCO charged by the power generation companies where CAPELCO is buying power. This is something that CAPELCO has no control because there were increases in the demand and government was forced to activate power plants that are expensive to operate to meet the increase in demand. Proof of which, he presented actual power bills charged by power suppliers to CAPELCO.
• The increase in demand was largely because of the high heat index during the summer period and unknowingly, people use their cooling appliances longer than necessary which increased the demand and ultimately their consumption. Higher consumption and higher power rates naturally increased the power bills. Comparatively, CAPELCO increase in the April and May 2024 is still one of the lowest in Western Visayas.
• It can be noted that the variable in the bill are mostly the generation and transmission charges because the Distribution, Supply and Metering (DSM) charges that accrues to CAPELCO have not changed since 2014.
The clarifications presented has contextualized that most of the charges that increased is not under the control of CAPELCO, that it is just collecting those charges through its bills and the bills is subject to regulation by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). AGM Diaz explained that the latest rate has decreased by 0.9607 centavos per kilowatt hour meters.
AGM Diaz, Director Patricio and Area Manager Jennel V. Javellana took turns in responding to the queries made by the members of the Sangguniang Bayan. In the end, the SB thanked CAPELCO for the fruitful engagement and the clear explanation of the circumstances surrounding the increase.
