‘MINIMAL RATE ADJUSTMENT’: MORE Power Seeks PHP 115M Cost Recovery

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), the electric distribution utility for Iloilo City, is seeking approval to recover approximately PHP 115 million from its customers through a minor rate adjustment over a period of up to three years.

The utility submitted its request to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to implement a true-up mechanism, aiming to balance under-recoveries and excess revenues accrued from January 2021 to December 2023.

MORE Power reported an under-recovery of PHP 115 million related to generation, transmission, real property tax, and senior discounts and subsidies, all of which were expenses paid to power suppliers and the transmission provider.

Niel Parcon, MORE Power’s vice president for Corporate Energy Sourcing and Regulatory Affairs, told Daily Guardian that, pending ERC approval, additional charges will be applied to consumers’ bills over the next three years.

Parcon emphasized that the adjustment would add only 3 to 4 centavos per kilowatt-hour, describing it as a “minimal rate adjustment.”

“Consumers will not be short-changed; this is purely a recovery. MORE Power has already paid these costs to its power suppliers and transmission provider. We’re simply recouping expenses we covered but hadn’t billed to consumers,” he said.

The ERC has scheduled a public hearing on Nov. 25 to review MORE Power’s request.

MORE Power currently serves around 100,000 customers in Iloilo City.

According to Parcon, the recovery charges will apply to all customers, including recent subscribers.

“We can’t selectively charge customers; the ERC’s rule requires uniform application. Targeting specific customers would be administratively burdensome,” he explained.

The under-recoveries stem from a lag in billing rates, which change monthly according to the rates from power suppliers.

Parcon noted that MORE Power’s bills to customers reflect rates from the previous month, creating discrepancies between what the utility can charge consumers and what it owes its suppliers.

“Since the costs billed to customers were lower than what was billed to us by power suppliers, we experienced under-recovery,” he explained.

Originally, MORE Power calculated an under-recovery of PHP 152.23 million but adjusted the amount down to PHP 115 million due to over-recoveries in system loss rates, lifeline charges and subsidies, and franchise taxes totaling PHP 36.82 million.