Despite overall electricity demand crunch in the country, state-owned National Power Corporation (NPC) has reported a dramatic revenue rise in its sold energy by 45.27-percent to P62.28 billion in the first six months of the year as compared to a year-ago figure of P42.87 billion.
The company’s Sales and Services Group has primarily attributed this well-enhanced revenue generation from the recent propping up in its rates that came with the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) final approval on its application for rate adjustment.
NPC noted that the rate hike due to its bid for higher return-on-rate-base (RORB), incorporated with its time-of-use (TOU) pricing, resulted in additional
P0.3625 per kilowatt hour adjustment in its charges effective April 26 this year.
It will be recalled that the power firm, after its rates was substantially reduced when Malacañang imposed a
P0.40 per kWh cap on its fuel and purchased power cost adjustment (FPCA), has suffered some huge losses; and could only get back to its feet if the industry regulator would afford it a rate hike.
And so in 2004, NPC, jointly with its transferee-company, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) lodged an application for a total of
P1.87 per kWh rate hike; but the total amount approved was just at P1.03 per kWh; including the first batch of P0.98 per kWh provisionally approved in September last year.
Prior to the ERC decision, NPC noted that it was spending an average of
P3.52 to produce one kilowatt-hour of electricity, but was forced to sell this electricity at roughly P1.27 per kWh; thus, the huge shortfall in its revenue generation. (MMV)
"These subsidies were also one of the major factors why NPC had incurred huge losses in the past few years," the company stressed it a statement released to media.
In terms of sales, the power firm noted that region-wise, the Luzon grid accounted for the biggest chunk of the revenues from January to June with
P50.16 billion, going up by a very significant 44.61percent from the 2004 earnings of P34.68 billion.
Mindanao, on the other hand, posted the biggest increase with an overwhelming improvement of 80.13-percent; and bringing in revenues of about
P7.55 billion during the period; as compared to the previous P4.19 billion.
Meanwhile, Visayas contributed
P6.67 billion, or 20.46 percent more than last year’s P5.54 billion.
NPC has emphasized that the six-month revenues are already net of the
P0.30 centavo per kWh power rate reduction mandated by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act.
"The higher revenues were likewise attained despite a slight dip in NPC’s energy sales in terms of volume," the power firm has noted.
According to the report, NPC’s total energy sales stood at 17,105.42 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from January to June this year, down by 1 percent from the year-ago figure of 17,884.04 GWh.
In the Luzon grid, which accounts for the biggest chunk in the entire electricity market with a share of roughly 65-percent; a 2.70 percent drop in sales was observe to 11,218.42 gigawatt hour (GWh) from 11,503.04 GWh.
Visayas registered the highest growth in energy sales at 7.47 percent; while Mindanao sales grew by 3.27 percent year-on-year, or from 3,226.17 GWh to 3,331.76 GWh.
