DAVAO CITY—The good news here is that power rate continues its decrease since January.
The bad news is that the hot summer months may prompt heavy consumption among industries and households.
The Aboitiz-owned Davao Light and Power Co. disclosed that overall power rate of Davao Light has continued to decrease in the past five months. The latest reduction is from P11.14 in April to P10.04 this May.
“This translates to a P211.76 difference from the previous billing of households whose average monthly electricity consumption is 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh),” the company said in a statement issued on Friday.
It said the low rate was attributed to the decrease on power supply prices from the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao which Davao Light took advantage of, and from coal power suppliers where the company sourced a part of its power requirement.
Even with this decrease, the distribution utility “reminds customers to properly manage their energy consumption, especially during the dry season,” stressing that market prices remain volatile.
“With current high demand for energy, an increase in the power rate is possible in the following months,” it said.
The country marked the start of its warm and dry season in March. In Davao City, a 42°Celsius heat index was recorded on May 24 based from the Department of Science and Technology—Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA)’s latest heat index information, the Davao Light said.
“Accordingly, a heat index from 42°Celsius to 51°Celsius falls under the classification ‘danger’ as it can cause heat cramps, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke,” it added.
“With the summer months, we experience much discomfort brought about by the heat. We tend to use more cooling appliances and use them for longer duration than usual,” said Fermin Edillon, head of the Davao Light Reputation Enhancement Department.
“On top of that, our children are home as most schools already ended their school year. Historically, in Davao Light’s franchise area, customer consumption is high during the dry season.”
In April, Davao Light recorded an average of 201 kWh consumption per customer, which is a 16 percent increase from March. “We encourage everyone to make energy conservation a habit and use electricity conscientiously to avoid high electricity bills,” Edillon added.
