Electric power rate to drop by 30% in 2019

AMID the skyrocketing of electric rate on top of power supply problem that plague the power sector, a high ranking official of the Department of Energy (DoE) said the “rate is seen to decrease by 15 to 30 percent in 2019”.

Undersecretary Arwin Ardon speaking before the 34th Annual General Membership Assembly (AGMA) of the Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative II (Zamsureco II) the DoE is currently doing “an inventory” of the existing conditions of the power supply and distributions of the electricity.

The energy department, he said, is “looking at the true situation of power generations and transmissions of the country.” The power review is expected to be completed by next year.

It is possible that after the review there will be a decrease of electric rate of up to 30 percent from the present rate, Ardon, who is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Renewables Corporation of the PNOC, added.

Zamsureco II is charging P9 per kilowatt hour at present, more than P5 of which goes to pay the power generation charge.

At the same time, Ardon said the DoE is also considering the possibility of developing the renewable sources of energy in Mindanao. Renewable sources of energy include wind and water.

He urged the local officials “to help us identify renewable sources of energy in the area” for the DoE to study its feasibility for possible sources of alternative energy.

Zamsureco II held August 27 its 34th AGMA in R.T. Lim town, this province with more than 1,000 member-consumers in attendance.

ZAMSURECO II was organized May 8, 1980 and incorporated under the provisions of the National Electrification Administration Act (R.A No. 6038) as amended by the Presidential Decree (P.D) No. 269.

The main office is located at barangay Pangi of Ipil town.

A year after its registration, ZAMSURECO II was commissioned and energized by the National Power Corporation (NPC).

According to its website, “the advent of electricity in the area did not only provide illumination at nights but likewise advanced the socio-economic development of the countryside with the inception of industrialization, improved commerce and adaption of the present technologies making this part of the country equally competitive worldwide.” A claim which has yet to be verified.

“ZAMSURECO II has been a Category A Electric Cooperative since 1985. Almost ten years after, in 1995, it became a Category A+ Large Electric Cooperative, until it was elevated to the Hall of Fame in 2002 for consistently being acclaimed an Outstanding Large Electric Cooperative in the Country.” This was the time under the stewardship of Engr. Jesus Castro, who served as general manager until 2009. Castro now sits at the Board of Directors of the electric cooperative.

In its financial highlight, the electric cooperative’s website said, “In 2011, operating at an Average System Rate of P6.41, ZAMSURECO II is privileged with a collection efficiency of 96%. This placed ZAMSURECO II’s Operating Revenue at P525,934,950 but with an annual power cost of P433,359,185. It stays current in its power bill payments to the National Power Corporation – Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (NPC-PSALM) and the Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) and likewise its amortization payments to the National Electrification Administration (NEA).”

At present, Zamsureco II is under the management of the NEA due to poor performance for the last five years. (Antonio Manaytay)

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