Consumers of Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) will pay lower electricity bills this May after the utility reduced residential power rates on the back of lower generation and transmission charges.

The Razon-led company said on Saturday the average residential electricity rate this month fell to P11.3808 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), down by P0.8655/kWh from April’s P12.2463/kWh.

“This month’s reduction in electricity rates is welcome news for our consumers, especially at a time when many households are still managing rising costs of living,” Negros Power president and CEO Roel Castro said.

“Our goal is always to ensure that power remains as affordable as possible while maintaining the stability and reliability of our services,” he added.

Negros Power said the reduction was mainly driven by lower Wholesale Electricity Spot Market charges, which declined to P5.0432/kWh from P5.8677/kWh in the previous billing period, equivalent to a decrease of P0.8245/kWh.

Castro said the cut was largely influenced by the market suspension triggered by a state of national energy emergency due to global fuel supply disruptions and rising oil prices.

The utility said these developments led to an overall reduction of P0.5332/kWh in generation charges for May.

Notably, the Energy Regulatory Commission also suspended the P0.0371/kWh GEA-ALL charge for the May and June billing.

Transmission charges for residential customers likewise decreased by P0.1506/kWh to P1.2151/kWh this month from P1.3657/kWh in April.