Napocor seeks
37% rate hike
BY JOHN POQUIZ
National Power Corp. (Napocor) has filed with
the Energy Regulatory Commission a petition to increase rates in
Luzon by 1.5058 per kilowatt-hour, up 37 percent, and P1.3136
per kwh in the Visayas, up 34 percent, to recover higher cost of
fuel and offset depreciation of the peso.
The petition, if approved, would lead,
however, to a reduction of power cost in Mindanao by P0.0952 per
kWh or 3.17 percent.
The rate adjustments were filed under the
14th and 13th installments, respectively, of the Generation Rate
Adjustment Mechanism (GRAM) and Incremental Currency Exchange
Rate Adjustment (ICERA), covering the period January to March
2008.
Napocor spokesperson Dennis Gana said the
proposed rate hike in Luzon and the Visayas was due primarily to
the volatility of the global fuel market and higher cost due to
a weakened peso.
He said that the power rates in Mindanao
would go down due to its adequate supply of hydropower.
"GRAM allows Napocor to recover the cost of
fuel. If Napocor allots P1 per liter for fuel for a certain
period and the actual cost of fuel hits P1.50, then we are
allowed to recover that P0.50 through the adjustments," he said.
The ICERA, also a quarterly adjustment,
allows utilities to recover foreign exchange-related costs.
Luzon accounts for close to 70 percent of
Napocor’s total market, with energy sales of 25,000 gigawatt-hours.
In terms of customers, 138 of NPC’s 263 customers are located in
the Luzon grid.
