Average Meralco customers to pay P125 more in August
A hefty rate increase awaits customers of power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for the month of August.
Meralco announced on Tuesday that it will hike its rates by P0.6268 per kilowatt hour (kWh) because of higher pass-through generation and transmission charges.
This will push the overall rate for a typical household to P13.2703 per kWh from P12.6435 per kWh in July.
This means that residential customers consuming 200 kWh a month will see their electricity bills going up by around P125 for August.
In a press briefing, Meralco officials explained that the generation charge jumped by P0.3749 per kWh due to higher charges from independent power producers (IPPs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Biggest factor
Charges from IPPs climbed by P0.9476 per kWh, while WESM charges also saw an upward adjustment of P0.4582 per kWh.
Costs from power supply agreements, on the other hand, dipped by P0.2604 per kWh following a decrease in the prices of coal and liquefied natural gas.
“The biggest factor that pushed up the generation cost was the significant depreciation of the peso against the dollar,” Meralco head of utility economics Larry Fernandez said.
Fernandez also pointed to the “very sharp” movement in the Philippine peso-US dollar exchange rate—from P56 in July to this month’s P58.
“Since many of the costs of generation plants are dollar-denominated, such as their fuel usage, the peso equivalent of their costs increased,” he added.
Transmission charges also contributed to the higher total rate, as it went up by P0.1270 per kWh.
Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, remained unchanged.
The power distributor services Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and selected areas in Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.
The company earns from distribution and metering charges.
