THE residential rate of Central Negros Electric Cooperative (Ceneco) decreased by 33 centavos from the previous month to only P8.71 per kilowatt hour for September billing.
Ceneco General Manager Sulpicio Lagarde said the decrease is reflected in the billing received by consumers this month.
r“We hope the decrease would continue in the coming months because we no longer pay for excess rates. We are only paying what we are consuming after our contract with Filinvest (FDC Utilities Inc.) has ended,” he added.
The system loss has also decreased from 11.52 percent to 11.43 percent, and the transmission charge lowered as well, he said.
Lagarde appealed to local government units (LGUs) as well as other government accounts to pay their power bills promptly.
Power interruptions are happening because Ceneco has not upgraded some of its equipment after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) did not approve its proposed capital expenditures, he said.
“The non-approval of ERC is due to the opposition of some individuals during the hearing for misconception that it will trigger a power increase. What they don’t know is that with the capital expenditures, Ceneco would be able to acquire and upgrade equipment that will redound to the improvement of our services,” Lagarde said.
rHe also said that if the LGUs do not pay their electric bills on time, Ceneco will have a problem also in paying the power generators.
“Ceneco earns a minimal amount from electric bills. We are paying the power generators in advance from that meager amount that Ceneco is getting,” Lagarde said.
