DLPC in its statement said that the cost incurred to produce electricity for the billing months of June and July was 6.9771 and 6.5671, respectively.
The DLPC, however clarified that its distribution charge remains at an average of P1.4257 per kilowatt hour as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Fermin Edillon, head of the DLPC Reputation and Enhancement Department during the Kapehan sa NCCC on Friday said that the power company’s distribution charge has not increased since 2013.
He said the price increase of imported fuel brought the overall electric rate for residential customers to P11.1086 per kilowatt hour in June and P11.6354 this July.
Edillon also said the average overall rate for a typical household went up by 0.53 centavos or P106 per kilowatt hour in July versus June for residential customers with average monthly electricity consumption of 200 kWh.
Under Republic Act 9136, or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001, the principal regulatory framework for the Philippine electricity industry, electric bills must be unbundled or itemized and segregated into various components of electricity charges for transparency.
The generation and transmission charges are passes through charges that Davao Light only collects but does not earn from. Being a power distribution utility, the power company’s charge is the distribution charge only.
DLPC President and chief operating officer Rodger Velasco, meanwhile encourages its customers to be prudent and efficient in the use of electricity.
“It is high time we check our daily routines and activities and see where we can efficiently use electricity,” Velasco said.
Velasco asked the public for understanding . The generation rate has increased because of the global increase in fuel prices. We are affected because we source 50 percent of our power from non-renewable sources, specifically diesel and coal,” Velasco said.
He said “since we source the other 50% from hydropower, a renewable and cheaper source, our overall rate, however, is not as high as other distribution utilities in the country.”