The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has urged distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives to ask their suppliers to allow them to pay for generation charges on an installment basis to help temper power rate increases.
The ERC made this appeal as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) placed Luzon on yellow alert yesterday.
Staggered collection of generation charges or the payment for the electricity supplied by generators will help temper power rates as it is currently the largest component in our monthly electricity bills. In Metro Manila, generation charge accounts for more than 50 percent of the total monthly power fees.
In a press briefing also yesterday, ERC chair Monalisa Dimalanta said DUs can take the initiative to seek for a staggered payment scheme or “ the regulator will be constrained to step in.”
Dimalanta also appealed to the generators to be receptive to these requests.
Dimalanta said the DUs can simply notify the ERC of their arrangements with their suppliers.
The ERC said it wants to avoid meddling too much so as not to create the impression that the regulatory body is “trigger happy” on policies that may directly affect the interest of power generators to invest in additional power plants.
The ERC on Tuesday, has issued an order suspending the operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market during red alerts.
“If a regulator is trigger happy and always meddle with the market, investors will think twice as they do not know the real cost of electricity if the regulator always steps in. That is part of our balancing act,” Dimalanta said.
The ERC said its technical team is set to submit the initial results of the investigation on six power plant generators on unforced outages recently.
Dimalanta said the preliminary findings will likely be released to the public by next week.
Meanwhile, NGCP placed the Luzon Grid under yellow alert yesterday from from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. yesterday as 20 power plant units and one more with de-rated capacities resulted in the unavailability of 1,369.3 megawatts (MW) in the region.
Yellow alerts are issued when the level of power reserve in the grid is low while red alerts are declared when actual power supply against demand is insufficient and power interruptions are imminent.
NGCP raised the alert as available capacity in the Luzon Grid was only at 15,115 MW compared to a peak demand of 13,818 MW.
Yellow alert in the Luzon Grid was lifted by 4:20 p.m. yesterday.
Meanwhile, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) launched additional platforms where customer can report power outages.
Meralco said it has been receiving a high volume of calls regarding brownouts due to increased energy usage brought by higher temperatures.
Meralco said reports can also now be made using their chatbot on Facebook Messenger as well as through its website and mobile app.
The company recently energized the newly converted Malinta Substation in Valenzuela City to enhance electricity service reliability in the area.
The P170.81-million project involved the conversion of the substation’s old 115 kilovolts (kV) conventional single bus switchyard into a modern indoor-type double bus configuration Gas-Insulated Switchgear, that will help limit incidents of scheduled and long power outages to the benefit of customers in Valenzuela and Malabon.
This will also enhance both the reliability and flexibility of the substation and the 115 kV sub-transmission line system.
