Lower electricity rate for Iloilo City consumers in June

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) announced that residential and commercial customers in Iloilo City will enjoy lower electricity bills for June.

The average electricity rate for the June 2024 billing month is P8.7749 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is P2.5514/kWh lower than the rate reflected on the May bill.

MORE Power said the lower rate would reflect on the bills from June 18, 2024, to July 12, 2024.

The reduced rate for June is due to the deferment of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) portion of the generation charge, following the latest order from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Due to this deferment, a portion of the WESM generation cost will be added to the July, August, and September 2024 bills.

“The lower rate for the June billing will be implemented automatically, and the remaining deferred generation charge will apply automatically to the next three succeeding months,” MORE Power said in a statement.

Despite the charges to be added in the succeeding months, MORE Power said customers could expect a slight rate increase as the rates will likely be closer to normal levels seen before the summer spike.

MORE Power’s WESM procurement constitutes 54 percent of its total generation cost, with the rest secured through bilateral contracts.

The bilateral contracts have positioned MORE Power to maintain competitive rates in electricity bills over the past months.

MORE Power said consumers no longer need to visit the Customer Services Office to apply or request the 4-month installment plan.

The ERC on June 13 approved the staggered payment of WESM purchases by distribution utilities for four months starting with bills payable in June 2024.

The measure seeks to mitigate the impact of high generation rates, particularly for consumers of distribution utilities with high WESM exposure.