ILOILO CITY – The intense summer heat has resulted in a significant increase in electricity prices in the Visayas.

This was attributed to the 95.5 percent increase in prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), a centralized venue for electricity trading.
The prevailing national price of WESM in March was P5.34 per kilowatt hour (kWh) compared to P2.73 per kWh in February.
WESM spot prices were P5.48 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in March in the Visayas.
The Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), the WESM operator, said the increase started first week of March when temperatures started to go up.
The rising temperature hiked the demand for energy in the Visayas which reached 13,670 megawatts.
As a result, power distributors and consumers in the Visayas are continually impacted by March and April rates.
As of April 20, there was a significant rate increase for many power distributors in the islands of Panay, Negros and Bohol.
The residential rate for MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) in Iloilo City increased to P12.0344 per kWh from P10.4177 per kWh.
The rate of the Iloilo Electric Cooperative III (ILECO III) that serves the towns in northern Iloilo province is P13.2749 per kWh from P11.8149 per kWh.
Capiz Electric Cooperative (CAPELCO) charges consumers P14.0380 per kWh from P12.4541 per kWh.
Aklan Electric Cooperative (AKELCO) consumers in Aklan province are paying P14.0440 per kWh from P12.6444 per kWh.
Power rates for consumers in Negros Occidental province jumped to P12.3450 per kWh from P11.4876 per kWh.
Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) customers are paying P15.6104 per kWh from P13.9595.
Rates of Bohol Light Company Inc. increased to P9.9860 per kWh from P9.0417 per kWh.