Power rates lower by 50¢

NAGA CITY—For the month of March, power rate in this city and nine towns under the Camarines Sur II Electric Cooperative Inc. (Casureco II) will be 50 centavos lower.

Casureco II spokesperson Emmanuel Rojo said a decrease in power consumption and a drop in systems loss were credited for the lower rate this month.

Rojo said efforts to save electricity paid off, with the city government setting an example by replacing its streetlights with LED lights.

Rojo said rates are lower also because the cooperative stopped buying power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) where rates are higher.

Rojo said Casureco II consumes an average of 58 megawatts per month distributed to some 98,000 consumers, but in March the consumption was down by about 10 percent.

He said because of the decrease in consumption, Casureco II was able to trade its excess power supply from its suppliers with WESM that earned for the cooperative additional income. Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon