THE DAVAO Light and Power Company (DLPC) urged consumers to be responsible for their daily electricity consumption as this expectedly leads to higher power rates.
In an interview on June 14, Fermin Edillon, DLPC Reputation Enhancement Department head, explained that consumers will most likely expect a power rate increase reflected in their June to July billing.
“Even if ga-ulan in the previous days in June, it will still not reflect for the June-July billing as we will still compute the entire 30 days of consumption,” Edillon said.
He said another existing factor for the increase is the impact of the El Niño phenomenon.
He noted an increase of P1.60 was recorded from the May billing, and the next power rate advisory is yet to be announced this week.
Edillon said hydropower plants, one of the cheaper and major suppliers of energy in Mindanao, were greatly affected by El Niño, which makes the region rely more on nonrenewable sources like coal.
“Kay niubos man ang generating capacity, wala ta’y makuhaan na cheaper supply. However we are hoping by next month, ma-normalize na siya, kay tungod mubalik most likely ang normal generating capacity sa mga hydro (due to frequent rain),” he said.
He also assured its consumers that DLPC will still get the cheapest energy sources regardless if whether it’s renewable or non-renewable.
In April, DLPC noted that power consumption rose to 540 megawatts, which was the highest recorded in years.
