The Energy Regulatory Commission granted transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines interim relief to implement an interim maximum annual revenue of P47.052 billion this year.
The ERC said in a statement the interim relief would effectively reduce the current transmission charge by P0.0413 per kilowatt-hour to P0.4701/kWh for 2020 from P0.5114 per kWh in 2019.
“The interim relief granted by the Commission to NGCP reflected a lower Interim maximum annual revenue (iMAR) for 2020 which caused the reduction in the transmission tariff. The approved iMAR amounted to P47 Billion, which is lower (by P11.8 billion) than the NGCP’s proposal of P58.8 Billion,” ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said.
The ERC noted in its evaluation that NGCP’s last adjustment of the maximum annual revenue, which reflects a utility firm’s profitability, was in 2016.
It said the increase in revenues from the 2016 level to the 2020 level would allow NGCP to augment its capital expenditures requirements in order to address the forecast increase in demand this year.