IMPROVED SERVICES. Linemen of the MORE Electric and Power Corp. conduct maintenance work in this undated photo. MORE Power spokesperson Jonathan Cabrera, in an interview on Tuesday (Sept. 28, 2021), said they would return the excess generation charge that was passed on to consumers in their July and August billings. (Photo courtesy of Leo Solinap)
ILOILO CITY – The MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power), whose franchise area covers Iloilo City, said it is committed to returning the excess generation charge that was passed on to its estimated 83,000 consumers in their July and August billings.
In a phone interview on Tuesday, MORE Power spokesperson Jonathan Cabrera said they have asked the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) about the approved method – whether to offset the amount in their next billing or give it in cash.
“We will comply and we will make sure 100 percent that all charges related to the incident would be refunded to our consumers,” he said.
The distribution utility charged its consumers PHP6.45 for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) in July, which increased to PHP7.99 in August.
Commercial users were billed PHP6.18 and PHP7.71 while power consumers were charged PHP6.12 and PHP7.65 per kWh in July and August, respectively.
Cabrera said the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) has billed them more than PHP60 million for their line charges in August.
He noted that because this was a part of the generation charge, it was passed on to consumers.
However, the ERC on September 20 directed the PEMC to stop the collection of congestion charges and other applicable charges, including line rentals attributable to the damaged submarine cable of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines connecting the islands of Cebu and Negros.
With the stoppage, the rate of electricity in the city this September has been reduced to PHP6.38/kWh for residential, PHP6.11/kWh for commercial, and PHP6.05/kWh for power consumers.
Billings that were released on September 20-22 were recalled and corrected to reflect the lower total average rate.
Meanwhile, Cabrera said they are flattered that consumers of other distribution utilities in Iloilo want MORE Power to expand its coverage.
“But it is the Congress that will act on it,” he said.
On September 22, representatives Michael Gorriceta (2nd District, Iloilo) and Braeden Biron (4th District, Iloilo) submitted House of Representatives Bill 10271 to the 18th Congress to amend the franchise of MORE Power and expand it to the municipalities of Alimodian, Leganes, Leon, New Lucena, Pavia, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga in the province’s second district and the towns of Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, and San Enrique in the fourth district.
Municipalities in the second district are currently being served by the Iloilo 1 Electric Cooperative Inc. (ILECO 1) and those in the fourth district by ILECO II. (PNA)
