Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO) raised electricity rates this month after higher Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices increased generation costs.
Residential rates climbed by P0.6450 per kilowatt-hour to P12.29/kWh in July, driven by another surge in spot market pricing.
WESM supplied roughly 52% of BENECO's power requirements during the billing period, while generation costs from Therma Luzon, Inc. also rose.
General Manager Melchor S. Licoben said relief may arrive with a new power supply agreement with Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd. starting July 26.
The agreement is expected to reduce reliance on the volatile spot market, with consumers likely to see the impact beginning in the September billing cycle.
BENECO noted its distribution, supply, and metering charges have stayed unchanged since 2009 and encouraged customers to conserve electricity to manage rising costs.
