ILOILO CITY – After a temporary increase last year, this city’s sole power distributor, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), assured that electricity rate will drop further this year.
A MORE Electric and Power Corp. lineman working in Iloilo City. (MORE Power)
MORE Power announced that there was a total reduction of P1.20 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from December 2022 until February 2023.
This downtrend began when the rate was reduced by 15 centavos to P14.68 per kWh in December 2022 from P14.84 per kWh in November 2022.
The decrease in electricity rate for consumers here was due to the decrease in generation charges after coal prices went down. It was also due to MORE Power tapping into the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
“This also proves what we are saying before that the price of coal in the world market greatly influences our generation charge and total average rate. If it increases, our rate increases. If it gets lower, our rates will decrease,” said Niel Parcon, MORE Power Vice President for Corporate Planning and Regulatory.
The current decrease does not yet include MORE Power’s 20-megawatt supply contract for geothermal power with the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), which is even cheaper than its coal sources.
MORE Power is also looking at renewable sources of power.
Speaking at Iloilo Business Club general meeting, MORE Power President and Chief Executive Officer Roel Castro assured that they are also exploring other potential renewable sources of power.