MANILA (UPDATED) - Consumers in many areas in the Visayas may be in for a bill shock as several electric cooperatives implement power rate hikes.

Based on the data gathered by the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives or Philreca, many of the areas affected by the series of yellow and red alerts last April were cooperatives in Western Visayas.

Topping the list in Western Visayas is ILECO 3 in Iloilo, with an increase of P3.53/kwh, followed by NOCECO or North Negros Electric Cooperative with an increase of P3.33/kwh for this month's billing.

Other areas in Region 6 have implemented a P0.33-P1.79/kwh hike.

For Luzon, Region 1 was the most affected, with increases averaging around P0.70/kwh.

Philreca executive director Atty. Janeene Colingan said the main reason for the rate spike is the exposure of electric coops to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market where power prices rose during the yellow and red alerts on the grid last April.

Colingan said distressed coops can borrow money from Landbank so they can stagger the collection of the big increase from customers and still able to pay their suppliers.

Energy Regulatory Commission Chairperson Monalisa Dimalanta said these coops can also opt to contract power supplies earlier instead of getting supply from WESM, where there can be big price swings.

ERC ALLOWS RECOVERY OF RESERVE MARKET PLAYERS

In another development, which will likely further increase electricity bills, the ERC has allowed a 30 percent recovery of cost of power generators in the reserve market to allow them to continue providing reserve electricity.

The ERC earlier suspended price settlements of players in the reserve market after NGCP's ancillary charges shot up pushing electricity bills up.

The ERC allowed a partial lifting which means that of the P5.7 billion to be passed on to consumers, P1.7 billion will be allowed which would translate to an increase of around P0.20-P0.50/kwh depending on which area needs more reserve power.

SENATORS BLAST DOE, ERC OVER HIKES

Two senators meanwhile criticized the Department of Energy and the ERC over the power rate hikes.

For Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, the failure of the DOE and ERC to perform their duties is the reason for the power rate hike.

In a statement, Escudero said there is a “lack of an advanced regulatory regime for power and experts/expertise in government to supervise and regulate all the players.”

Another factor in high power cost, according to Escudero, is the low supply which he traced to the “slow processing of applications for new capacity, approval of off-take agreements, absence or lack of legal and market incentives for new capacity.”

Deputy Minority Floor Leader Risa Hontiveros also expressed “deep disappointment” over the “continued failure” of the DOE, ERC, and National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to address the power issues in the country.

“Parang kulang sa energy ang mismong Department of Energy at puro kabig naman ang NGCP,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

(It seems like the Department of Energy itself lacks energy and NGCP often retracts.)

“They cannot go on giving us nothing. Kumilos naman sila (They should act),” she added.