‘NO VIOLATIONS’, GUIMELCO: Price cap violation claim ‘unfounded’

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The Guimaras Electric Cooperative (GUIMELCO) defended itself against allegations of violating the price ceiling set by the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) tripartite committee, calling the claim “unfounded.”

GUIMELCO general manager Shirley S. Laurente explained to Daily Guardian that the PHP 32 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) price cap applies only to trading prices in the spot market and not to generation costs incurred by GUIMELCO through bilateral contracts with Independent Energy Market Operators (IEMOP).

The price ceiling, established by the WESM tripartite committee in 2013, aims to stabilize electricity prices during market trading among power generators.

“The price cap applies to hourly trading prices for power generators in the market, meaning that generators should not exceed this PHP 32 limit during trading hours,” Laurente said.

A recent petition filed with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) called for an investigation into GUIMELCO’s power purchases, specifically highlighting the August billing period.

The petition urged the ERC to review GUIMELCO’s generation cost of PHP 36.5833 per kWh with IEMOP, claiming it violates the PHP 32 per kWh cap on power traded in the spot market.

Laurente dismissed the petition’s claims as “unfounded,” asserting that GUIMELCO has consistently maintained transparency with its monthly generation charges, which are submitted to the ERC for monitoring.

“They may lack understanding of the price cap […] We are clear that we did not violate any WESM pricing provisions,” she said.

Laurente attributed the PHP 36.5833 per kWh generation cost with IEMOP to the staggered payment scheme introduced by the ERC for WESM purchases.

This scheme allows distribution utilities to spread payments for WESM purchases over four months, starting with bills due in June 2024.

In August, GUIMELCO charged consumers PHP 17.6750 per kWh, the highest residential electricity rate among electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in Western Visayas.

In May 2024, the rate was PHP 14.4686 per kWh, dropped to PHP 10.4135 per kWh in June, rose to PHP 15.2465 per kWh in July, and slightly decreased to PHP 15.1434 per kWh in September.

“All of these details are available on GUIMELCO’s website and submitted to the ERC for oversight. We will allow the ERC to review and assess the petition,” Laurente added.