In Biliran, electricity is distributed by the Biliran Electric Cooperative (BILECO). In Leyte, several electric cooperatives serve different areas; LEYECO II, for example, serves Tacloban City and nearby towns. The name of your cooperative is printed on your bill.
Why your rate changes every month
The biggest part of most bills is the generation charge: the cost of the electricity itself, which your cooperative buys from power suppliers and passes on to its members. It moves with fuel costs, supply contracts and market conditions, so the rate per kWh can go up or down from one month to the next. The cooperative’s own distribution charges are regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
What’s on your bill
Exact labels differ between cooperatives, but charges are usually grouped like this:
- Generation – the cost of the electricity itself
- Transmission – moving power over the national grid
- System loss – the cost of power lost along the lines
- Distribution, supply and metering – the cooperative’s own costs of running the network
- Universal and other government-mandated charges
- Taxes, including VAT
- Subsidies and adjustments, such as lifeline or senior-citizen discounts where they apply
How to work out your effective rate
Divide the total amount of your bill by the kWh you used that month. That number, your effective rate per kWh, is the one that matters when you estimate what solar could save you. Work it out for several months; it will vary.
Where to find official rates
Cooperatives publish their monthly rate schedules, usually at their offices and on their official Facebook pages. Our rate-tracker articles list each month’s published rate, with a link to the source and the date we checked it. If you see a figure on this site that doesn’t match the official schedule, tell us and we will correct it.
What this means for solar
Every kWh your panels produce and you use yourself is a kWh you don’t buy from the cooperative, so it saves you your effective rate. The higher your rate, the stronger the case for solar, but the calculation only works with real numbers from your own bill. Send us a recent bill and we will run the numbers for your home or business.