By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
With fluctuating electricity prices in the market driven by supply and demand dynamics, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) has implemented strategies to maintain lower power rates, easing the burden on its consumers.
Niel Parcon, MORE Power’s vice president for Corporate Energy Sourcing and Regulatory Affairs, explained that mitigating costs for customers hinges on effective power supply management.
Parcon emphasized that MORE Power balances its supply by strategically purchasing electricity through bilateral contracts and market transactions.
“During cold months, because it’s an interplay or a mix between your bilaterals, meaning the contracts, and your purchases from the market, if prices in the market are high, we buy more from our [bilateral] contracts,” he told Daily Guardian on Monday.
Based on MORE Power’s website, the distribution utility (DU) has bilateral contracts with KEPCO SPC Power Corp., Energy Development Corp., and Panay Energy Development Corp.
By locking in a significant portion of their electricity requirements through bilateral contracts, they reduce their reliance on the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
This proactive approach in managing supply contracts has helped MORE Power maintain its competitive rates compared to other distribution utilities in Iloilo and other areas in Western Visayas.
It can be noted that during peak summer periods, there is higher electricity demand due to increased use of cooling systems like air conditioners.
This surge in demand can drive up WESM prices, as generators may charge more for their power due to the higher demand.
“It’s really a play of knowing when to buy and when not to buy. That’s why our customers are really feeling the low rates that they are experiencing compared with the other distribution utilities,” Parcon emphasized.
Parcon, however, stressed that they are not fully in control of the volatile market prices and can only do so much to ease the burden on consumers.
“If you reach the maximum of your contract, you have no choice but to expose a portion of your power needs to the market,” he said.
MORE Power anticipates that rates will rise in the coming months — March, April, and May — due to seasonal demand patterns.
The firm advised its customers to monitor their consumption during these months.
“We ask our customers to monitor their consumption because, with the hotter season coming by March, we expect rates to really go up. We have a cycle that is normally predictable,” he said.
In January 2025, MORE Power announced that the average residential electricity rate for Iloilo City consumers is PHP 10.9567 per kWh, a decrease of PHP 0.4603 per kWh compared to December 2024.
Parcon said the reduction is primarily attributed to a lower generation charge, driven by decreased WESM prices during the billing period from November 26 to December 25.
He noted that the low prices allowed for more supply to be purchased from the market instead of relying on bilateral agreements.
Aside from the decrease in WESM prices, the Regulatory Reset Fee Adjustment, as mandated by Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Resolution 18, Series of 2024, also contributed to lower power rates.
The ERC, in December last year, ordered private DUs to refund unspent regulatory reset fees collected from consumers. This decision affects 17 DUs, including Manila Electric Co., which must refund approximately PHP 987.16 million.
The regulatory reset fees were initially approved to cover costs associated with technical experts for the rate reset process.
However, these fees continued to be collected even though no actual payments were made, as the necessary funds were provided through the annual government budget.
