Meralco raises power rate this month

MANILA — Due to higher generation charge, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) rates have increased this month, putting an end to two consecutive months of decline which resulted to a combined reduction of P0.9154 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

On Thursday, Meralco reported that the overall rate for a typical household in September increased by P0.3907 per kWh to P9.9365 from P9.5458 per kWh in August.

This equates to an increase of approximately P78 in this month’s electricity bills for residential customers consuming 200 kWh, P117 for 300 kWh, P156 for 400 kWh, and P195 for 500 kWh.

According to Meralco, generation charge for September went up by P0.3581 to P6.9393 per kWh from the P6.5812 per kWh last month.

Charges from the independent power producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSAs) rose by P0.8026 and P0.3316 per kWh, respectively, driven by higher fuel costs and peso depreciation.

Meralco stated that the continuing Malampaya gas supply constraint prompted First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo to use a more expensive alternative fuel to assure continuous supply.

It said peso depreciation also pushed up charges from the IPPs and PSAs since 98 percent of total IPP costs and 36 percent of PSA costs are dollar-denominated.

Partly mitigating the higher PSA and IPP costs were the lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which registered a decline of P3.7473 per kWh as the supply situation in the Luzon grid improved.

As a result of the decline in average daily peak demand, no yellow alert was issued in August, and the frequency of secondary price cap implementation decreased from 27.62 percent to 4.7% in July.

PSAs accounted for 48 percent of Meralco’s energy requirement for the period, while IPPs and WESM accounted for 42 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, transmission charge decreased by P0.0432 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges.

On the other hand, taxes and other charges registered a net increase of P0.0758 per kWh, as wel as the additional P0.0239 per kWh to the Universal Charge for Missionary Electrification as recently ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Meralco stated that with this adjustment, universal rates have increased to P0.2228 per kWh from P0.1989 per kWh earlier.