MANILA(UPDATE) -- Fuel prices are climbing at the start of October.

Oil companies announced the following price changes effective October 1, Tuesday:

PILIPINAS SHELL, CALTEX, SEAOIL (from 6 a.m.)
Gasoline - P0.45/L increase
Kerosene - P0.30/L increase
Diesel - P0.90/L increase

CLEANFUEL (from 4:01 p.m.)
Gasoline - P0.45/L increase
Diesel - P0.90/L increase

PETRO GAZZ (from 6 a.m.)
Gasoline - P0.45/L increase
Diesel - P0.90/L increase

Since the start of the year, gasoline prices have posted a net increase of P6.40 per liter while diesel has risen by P2.85/L for diesel, including Tuesday's price hikes.

DOE Assistant Director Rodela Romero said the killing of a leader of Hezbollah in Lebanon will probably have an impact on prices this week, highlighting fears of retaliation against Israel, further aggravating the volatile situation.

UNBUNDLING PRICES 

The DOE has yet to implement the "unbundling" of fuel prices despite a win in the Supreme Court against oil firms. Romero said DOE officials are still consulting with the Office of the Solicitor General and Philippine Competition Commission to determine the extend of the unbundling of fuel prices.

Romero said the DOE will come up with a format that will be filled out by oil firms of data related to costs of fuel sold in the retail market. While oil firms practically copy each other's price advisories, retail prices differ on the ground as factors like competition and location matter.

Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has warned that a provision of a pending bill on creating a liquified natural gas industry may further push prices of electricity up. In a statement, Gatchalian highlighted Section 6 of the proposed measure, which allows for the ‘full recovery of reasonable costs’ incurred by power generators—a more lenient standard compared to the ‘least cost’ requirement outlined in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA).

"In the provision of gas supply under Section 21, indigenous natural gas (ING) has a priority over imported natural gas and even electric power produced from ING has priority in generation, transmission, distribution, and supply, even if ING is more expensive than other sources. This is problematic because consumers will be forced to pay the higher price of electricity whenever ING is more expensive," says Gatchalian.

But Power4People coalition said prices of natural gas are way higher than renewable energy sources, and that's why the entire bill should be opposed.

The group says consumers will eventually carry the burden of paying a higher electricity bill if the measure is passed soon.

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