Iloilo city: Residential consumers will see a PHP1.56 hike for every kilowatt-hour (kWh) in their electricity bill this September, equivalent to a PHP12.44/kWh from last month's PHP10.19 per kWh. The commercial rate is now PHP11.76/kWh, up from PHP10.19/kWh last month.

According to Philippines News Agency, 'The recent yellow alert status advisories from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) last August have triggered an increase in the cost of power in the spot market,' MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) said in a statement on Thursday.

MORE Power vice president for corporate energy sourcing and regulatory affairs, Niel Parcon, explained that a yellow alert is issued when 'the supply margin falls below the capacity of the largest generating unit in the grid.' This indicates that available supply is insufficient to meet demand securely, especially amid rising demand. This means if the supply is thin, the cost of power in the spot market increases, he said in a statement.

Parcon said the price of electricity started to increase in August due to insufficient supply in the market, not only in Visayas but throughout the country. Visayas, especially Panay, was hit hard since it is at the tail end of NGCP's transmission line network. Because of the thin supply margin in the Visayas, the grid has to get supply from Luzon, Negros, and Mindanao to support the needs in Panay Island.

NGCP was able to secure 2,528 megawatts in contrast to the 2,475 megawatts demand, leaving a critical margin of 53 megawatts. This month, MORE Power's generation charge increased to PHP6.1437 per kWh from PHP4.9128 per kWh last month, mainly attributed to the increase in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices. These are pass-through expenses that distribution utilities are required to incorporate into the consumers' accounts.

Parcon assured the public that they are carefully monitoring the cost of power generation facilities so that power rates will gradually return to normal in the next billing cycles.