Transmission rates down in November

TRANSMISSION CHARGES for the November billing period, which will be reflected in December’s bills, decreased due to a slight decrease in ancillary service (AS) costs, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).

The overall transmission rates decreased by 7.44% to P1.1966 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the November supply month, based on NGCP’s presentation at a briefing on Thursday.

Transmission charge refers to the cost of delivery of electricity from power generation facilities to power distribution systems.

Julius Ryan D. Datingaling, head of business and regulatory development at NGCP, said that transmission wheeling rates, or what NGCP charges for its primary service of delivering power, declined by 0.96% to P0.4957 per kWh in November from P0.5005 per kWh a month earlier.

AS charges, on the other hand, decreased by 12.84% to P0.5699 per kWh from P0.6539 per kWh a month ago.

AS charges pertain to the cost for the power sourced from the reserve market and those from providers with bilateral contracts with NGCP. It provides support services used to balance and stabilize the grid during power supply-demand imbalances, according to the company.

The grid operator earlier noted that it does not earn from AS and did not benefit from the increase in prices as it is a pass-through cost given to generating companies.

Transmission charges account for 3% of a consumer’s monthly electricity bill, according to NGCP Spokesperson Cynthia P. Alabanza.

Generation charges, on the other hand, share the bulk of the total electricity rate or more than 50%. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera