State-run National Power Corp. expects the universal charge for missionary electrification subsidy to reach P30 billion in 2024.
NPC filed a petition with the Energy Regulatory Commission dated Mar. 8, 2023 seeking to recover the proposed basic UCME rate of P0.2532 per kilowatt-hour for 2024.
NPC said the UCME rate approval is vital to its subsidy requirements to maintain a reliable and stable funding source for operating costs requirements and to ensure sufficient subsidy for payment to new power providers, qualified third parties and renewable energy developers.
It said the existing UCME rate of P0.1544 per kWh could not sustain its operation and payment to NPPs/QTPs because of the fuel price hike in the global market.
NPC said it used the figures from the Department of Budget and Management’s development and budget coordination meeting held on Dec. 5, 2022, which put the price of Dubai crude in the range of $70 to $90 per barrel.
The company utilized the highest value of $90.626 per barrel using the Mean of Platts Singapore average price with a delivered fuel price of P64.9836 per liter multiplied by NPC’s fuel volume. NPC said it did not use the 2021 figures of P34.95 per liter in its computation because it was “far removed from the projected price in 2024.” Alena Mae S. Flores