NEW MANAGEMENT. The National Electrification Administration (NEA) appoints Cipriano "Perry" Martinez (left) as acting general manager on Sept. 6, 2023. Also in the photo are NEA administrator Antonio Mariano C. Almeda (2nd from left), Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative board member Nikki Pilar (2nd from right), and Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc (right). (Photo courtesy of INEC)
LAOAG CITY – The management of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) said Tuesday that residents and consumers can expect a PHP3.1851 cut in their electricity bill this September.
In a public advisory, INEC said that the residential power rate for this month is now down to PHP11.5517 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), inclusive of value-added tax from PHP14.7368/kWh last August.
The news came just after the lone power distributor in the province welcomed its new acting general manager Cipriano “Perry” Martinez III.
According to Section 4 (e) and 5 (a) of Presidential Decree No. 269 as amended by Republic Act No. 10531, the National Electrification Administration (NEA), through administrator Antonio Mariano Almeda, appointed Martinez as acting general manager of INEC for six months or until a regular general manager has been appointed in the cooperative.
Martinez was a former administrator of the Laoag City government in 2010 and the general manager and consultant for transportation of the Ilocos Norte government before his appointment to INEC.
Since last year, consumers have been grappling with rising power rates along with the rising prices of coal and gasoline, and the diminishing value of the peso against the dollar. The residential power rate in the province even jumped as high as PHP16.77 per kilowatt-hour previously, excluding the value-added tax and other government charges.
“We have finally made a progress. Thank you to NEA administrator Nani Almeda, to INEC, and to everyone who has contributed to bringing down our power rates,” Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc said in a statement Tuesday.
Manotoc said the nullification of INEC’s power supply agreement (PSA) with Masinloc Power Partner Co. Ltd. has significantly reduced power rates in the province.
Manotoc was referring to the 20-year generation contract agreement signed between INEC and the Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. in 2018, where most of its power requirements are derived.
With the rise of fossil fuel prices in the global market where Masinloc gets its supply, the previous management of INEC said they had to pass on the generation charge increase to its consumers.
Manotoc said the nullification of INEC’s power supply agreement (PSA) with Masinloc Power Partner Co. Ltd. has significantly reduced power rates in the province.
Manotoc was referring to the 20-year generation contract agreement signed between INEC and the Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. in 2018, where most of its power requirements are derived.
With the rise of fossil fuel prices in the global market where Masinloc gets its supply, the previous management of INEC said it had to pass on the generation charge increase to its consumers. (PNA)
