Power rates in Mindanao region are expected to go down soon thanks to the completion by next month of the transmission link between Visayas and Mindanao by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said on Monday, Feb. 13.
In a statement, the veteran lawmaker thanked NGCP Chairman Henry “Big Boy” Sy, Jr. and President Anthony Almeda for the impending completion of the project.
“We have high power rates in our island,” lamented Rodriguez as he echoed the recent complaints from Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and the electricity end-users group under Mindanao Coalition of Power Consumers (MCPC).
He said the completion of the transmission link between Mindanao and Visayas and the eventual interconnection among the country’s three islands, including Luzon, “should result in lower power rates for us in the south".
The majority of the power supply in Visayas is generated from geothermal plants, while Luzon heavily relies on cheaper natural gas from the Malampaya natural gas project in Palawan.
READ: Power rates to go down as WESM launches Mindanao grid operations — PBBM
In August last year, Zubiri delivered a privilege speech where he called for the review of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), saying that this has resulted in higher electricity costs throughout the country.
The Senate President cited the case of Cagayan de Oro City, wherein rates increased from P10.62 per kilowatt-hour in January to P14.90 in July last year.
“It has been 21 years since we passed the EPIRA. If we need to review and amend it to respond to the condition at this time, we are prepared to do so. It is now ripe for review,” Rodriguez quoted Zubiri.
The Senate President said even President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. urged Congress to address the high power rates in Mindanao during his first State of the Nation Address in July 2022.
MCPC president David Tauli said that electricity rates in Mindanao increased from an average of P6 per kilowatt-hour (Kwh) to P12 – and from an average of P8 to P20 per kwh during peak hours – from 2016 to 2022.
Rates differed depending on the time of day. They are also higher during peak hours.