PH had highest electricity rates in ASEAN in June due to supply shortages -- DOE

The Philippines had the most expensive electricity rates among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in June due to low supply and high demand recorded during the month, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported Monday. According to DOE Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara, the country reported an average rate of P12.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in June, surpassing that of Singapore by P0.093 per kilowatt-hour. “Sa Visayas, siya talaga ‘yung pinakamahal dahil talagang may kakulangan tayo sa supply doon. Meron tayong 21 plants na naka-forced outage and therefore, dependent siya talaga sa Luzon at sa Mindanao for imported power,” she said in a virtual briefing. (Visayas was really the most expensive because there was really a lack of supply there. There are 21 plants on forced outage, and therefore, it is really dependent on imported power from Luzon and Mindanao.) “Alam niyo naman, naka-yellow alert sila palagi (As you know, they have been on yellow alert regularly) since May 13, and that is the one that is driving the price high for Visayas,” she added. The Visayas grid has been on yellow alert — indicating that the operating margin is insufficient to meet the transmission grid’s contingency requirement — for several days in June, due to the continued forced outage of major coal plants in the region. Among the outages recorded were Therma Visayas Inc. (TVI) units 1 and 2 and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC). “For the rest… Meron kasi din tayong mga matataas na demand during the summer months, and therefore we have to operate the more expensive power plants. Imbes na mag-blackout, paandarin na lang ‘yung mga medyo mahal na plant,” Guevara said. (For the rest… Demand was also high during the summer months, and therefore, we have to operate the more expensive power plants. Instead of blackouts, we ran more expensive plants.) Manila Electric Company (Meralco), which supplies power to Metro Manila, raised its rate by P0.1488 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall household rate up to P14.4833 per kWh from P14.3345 per kWh in May. This translates to a P29.76 increase in the monthly bill of a typical household consuming 200 kWh. Meralco also announced a P0.3428 per kWh increase for July, bringing the overall rate to P14.8621 per kWh. This could reflect a P69 increase in the monthly bill for a typical household. –NB, GMA News