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The price of cooking gas will increase by as much as
P2 per kilogram starting Wednesday, the LPG Marketers’ Association
announced Monday.
The price hike in liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) follows increases in prices of basic commodities
and electricity rates of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), which
the Consumer Oil Price Watch said should be more transparent on how
adjustments are made.
Plus, transport groups are
threatening to mount another strike, as they called on government to
do more about the surging prices of oil in the world market. (See
related front-page story.)
The latest price increase in
cooking gas was reportedly caused by high contract rates of LPG in
the world market, said Arnel Ty, president of the Marketers’
Association.
The contract price of LPG rose by
$30 per metric ton in the world market, he said. Local cooking gas
producers may be adjusting their prices to make it at par with crude
oil rates abroad, he added.
An 11-kilogram tank, which is
what most households use, now retails from P535 to P540 and is
likely to go up from P557 to P562.
Meralco rates
In a press conference Monday,
Raul Concepcion of the Consumer Oil Price Watch said Meralco should
be more transparent on its recent rate hike.
He said the utility firm failed
to account for foreign exchange gains it has incurred with the
strengthening of the peso against the US dollar.
“Meralco has neither collected
nor refunded the CERA [currency exchange rate adjustment] to
customers when during this period we have experienced an
appreciation of the peso from P48.91 in January 2007 to P41.25
versus a dollar in March 2008,” Concepcion said.
The consumer group plans to take
up this issue with the Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates
electricity rates, including Meralco’s, he said.
Adjustments in the utility’s
foreign-exchange costs are done through its currency exchange rate
adjustment mechanism, which allows a utility firm to recover from
customers the foreign currency obligations that are affected by the
volatility of the exchange rate.
The Energy Regulatory Commission
approved the adjustment in May 2003 and is pegged at 11.87 percent
of the distribution charge.
Meralco earlier said it had
stopped collecting through exchange-rate adjustments since January
2007, after the company successfully issued bonds, which raised more
than P12 billion that was used to retire most of its foreign
currency obligations and fund its working capital requirements.
Concepcion said there is a need
to clarify this so as not to confuse consumers who are still reeling
from a recent spike in Meralco’s pass through charges, or costs it
directly collects from its customers, which increased by P0.82 per
kilowatt hour in April.
Government should have helped
ease the burden on consumers “by forewarning of the impending
adjustment as soon as generation companies and the National
Transmission Corp. [TransCo] bill the distribution utilities,” he
added.
The increase in Meralco’s rates
was blamed on high demand and intermittent operations of coal
plants, which are cheaper to operate compared to others that use
other types of fuel.
Industry officials warned that
there may still be rate adjustments in May, when demand for
electricity traditionally peaks because of prolonged use of cooling
appliances during summer.
Transport sector threats
Transport groups are grumbling,
as world crude prices hit a record high of $120 per barrel in
intraday trade Monday.
George San Mateo,
secretary-general of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators
Nationwide (PISTON), said his group is planning a transport strike,
because they want government to mitigate the negative impact of
rising fuel prices.
Government should lift the Oil
Deregulation Law and suspend the 12-percent expanded value-added tax
(E-VAT) on oil products, which could directly improve the prices of
oil, he explained.
The planned strike is also aimed
to support calls for wage increases for workers, whose purchasing
power has been slashed by rising prices. San Mateo said they are not
optimistic about their petition for a fare increase, which would
give breathing space for commuters.
--James Konstantin Galvez And Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo
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