The 21st Davao City Council passed a resolution urging the Davao Light and Power Company, Inc. (DLPC) to enter into long-term bilateral Power Supply Agreements (PSA) and interim emergency contracts with available base-load power plants to secure stable and affordable electricity rates for Dabawenyos.
The approved resolution urged DLPC to pursue long-term bilateral PSA with Therma South, Inc. and other base-load power generators in Mindanao, in compliance with the Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Councilor Louie John Bonguyan, Chairperson of the Committee on Energy and Water said on Tuesday, during his privilege speech, that the measure comes amid a sudden spike in electricity charges, largely driven by volatile prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in which by entering into bilateral PSA, DLPC can secure more stable and competitive rates compared to excessive reliance on the spot market.
He also emphasized that with the Council’s passage of the resolution, Dabawenyos are not left vulnerable to sudden spikes in electricity bills and are protected through transparent and long-term agreements designed to deliver fair and affordable rates.
“This resolution protects the welfare of its constituents and ensure they are given fair prices for basic utilities,” he said.
The resolution also noted that Davao Light, under current rules and regulations of ERC, has a responsibility to its constituents to be transparent with their prices and to proactively ensure the least cost of electricity.
The City Council also wants Davao Light to expand beyond its current supply arrangements and secure additional power directly from available Mindanao based generators since the excessive dependence on spot market purchases has left consumers vulnerable to sudden and steep increases in electricity rates.
He also assured Dabawenyos that lower electricity rates could be reflected in their electricity bills within several months if Davao Light secures cheaper baseload power and based on the ERC approval.
“Kutob sa amoang makaya asa ang amoang pwede mabuhat to lower down the electricity cost, himoun na sa city council. We can still find ways na possible na mubaba ang rate. Dili man dayon ugma or next month or in the coming months, basig mubaba na ang electricity cost diria sa atoang syudad sa Davao (As far as we can, we will do what we can to lower the electricity cost, as proposed to the city council. We can still find ways that it is possible for the rate to go down. It won’t be tomorrow or next month or maybe in the coming months, the electricity cost here in our city of Davao will go down),” he added. CIO
Written by: N. Malasado
Edited by: A. Nawal