The dual effect of rising temperatures and rising electric bills may raise some people’s blood pressure. But there are ways to save energy and keep your electric bills manageable, as Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. (Davao Light) are reminding their customers.
Make The Most Of Natural Light
During the daytime, you don’t need to switch the lights on. So instead of keeping your lights on and let unnecessary wattage to run, maybe you should open the curtains and let some natural light in. The sun is turned on for half of the day anyway, so might as well use it!
Improve Ventilation
With the intense heat, everyone’s air-conditioning units are working overtime. But your aircons – and not to mention your wallets – also deserve a break. When the heat’s a little more tolerable – maybe early in the morning and late in the afternoon – you can open your windows and welcome the outside air.
Recalibrate Your Usage
Which appliances do you use too much? Which of them have high wattage ratings? Maybe a little adjustment in your daily habits can help you save energy and also money from high electric bills. For example, instead of using your desktop computer for the entire day, maybe you can use it in the morning, and then shift to your fully-charged laptop or tablet in the afternoon.
Why Save Energy?
Aside from keeping your monthly electric bills to a minimum, saving energy is also important during this dry season, with the effects of El Niño in full display. With Mindanao being placed on yellow alert by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) last April 24, saving energy has become the responsible thing to do.
A yellow alert is issued when the power supply’s operating margin isn’t enough to meet the transmission grid’s contingency needs. Mindanao was given this distinction when El Niño phenomenon had affected the hydropower plants in Mindanao, causing nine power plants to shut down and five others to run at reduced capacity.
No Power Crisis In Mindanao
The Department of Energy (DOE) reassured everyone, however, that there will be no need for rotational brownouts.
Ang ibig lang pong sabihin nyan [yellow alert] ay meron pong kakulangan ang ating reserba nang suplay kung sakali pong meron isang malaking planta na magkakaroon po ng deperensya at hindi po makakapagsuplay ng kuryente… Huwag po tayong mangamba. Hindi po kulang ang suplay ng kuryente natin sa Mindanao,” DOE Assistant Secretary Mario, CESO III Marasigan said in a recent radio interview.
High Demand For Power
Even though Mindanao’s power supply is doing fine, Davao Light is reminding everyone to be mindful of their energy usage, especially now when the heat is pushing up electricity demand.
Rodger Velasco, Davao Light’s President and COO, said that they’ve seen the highest power demand in years. “In April, we recorded a 536-megawatt (MW) demand in our franchise area from 432MW in February and 479MW in March,” he explained. Davao Light’s franchise area includes the cities of Davao and Panabo, plus the towns of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas.
Lowering Consumption
With the current high demand and power supply situation, power rates are expected to rise. “Because of shortages in cheaper sources of electricity (hydropower), we expect our electricity prices to go up,” Velasco said.
This was already noticeable in the billing period from April 11 to May 10, where residential customers saw a slight increase of P0.1379 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in their bills. This raised the overall residential rate from P8.9975/kWh in March to P9.1354/kWh in April, meaning an extra P27.58 for a typical household using 200 kWh a month.
With Davao Light’s energy-saving tips, customers can mitigate rising power costs. Through responsible and efficient power consumption, we can all save money while contributing to Mindanao’s energy preservation efforts.
For more tips on saving energy, you can visit Davao Light’s official Facebook page at DavaoLightOfficial. For the complete list of monthly rates, check out Davao Light’s official website.
Source: Davao Light encourages customers to conserve energy to avoid bill shock
