NGCP seeks to recover P327 M from Luzon end-users

MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is seeking to recover over P327 million from electricity end-users in Luzon in over three years for the repair of transmission lines damaged by Typhoon Nina last year.

In an application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), NGCP is asking for a provisional approval for the collection of the force majeure (FM) pass-through costs from customers in Luzon.

It is also asking the power regulator to declare Typhoon Nina as force majeure event after it damaged its transmission assets and facilities in the region in December 2016.

“Due to heavy rains and gusty winds, NGCP’s transmission assets and other related facilities in Luzon were damaged causing widespread power interruption over the area,” NGCP said.

Immediately after the typhoon, NGCP had mobilized almost 600 personnel from all points of the country to speed up the restoration of all transmission services after Typhoon Nina wreaked havoc in the South Luzon areas.

NGCP said it incurred P134.4 million in capital expenditure and operating expenditures to cover the immediate repair, restoration and rehabilitation of damaged transmission assets and other related facilities.

Meanwhile, the recoverable value or the net fixed asset value of the assets destroyed by Typhoon Nina is equivalent to P193.11 million.

In total, NGCP is seeking approval to recover P327.52 million from Luzon customers from January 2018 to December 2020, or until the amount is fully recovered.

The grid operator is looking to charge an additional P0.83 per kilowatt (kw) a month this year, P0.86 per kw a month in 2019, and P0.9 per kw a month in 2020.

In terms of per kilowatt-hour, this is equivalent to P0.0016 per kwh in 2018 and in 2019  and P0.0017 in 2020.

NGGP said it needs to immediately recover the actual expenses incurred for the repair, restoration and rehabilitation of the damaged transmission assets and other related facilities to allow the continuous provision of transmission service to the grid customers.