Meralco rates go up in November on higher gen charge

Typical households served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see higher electricity bills this month due to the increase in the cost of power from suppliers.

The overall rate will climb by PHP 0.4274 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to PHP 11.8569 per kWh in November from PHP 11.4295 per kWh in October, Meralco said in a statement on Tuesday.

Households consuming 200 kWh will have to pay around P85 more this month. Those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh will see their monthly electricity bills go up by PHP 128, PHP 171, and PHP 213, respectively.

“Driving this month’s overall rate increase is the PHP 0.2884 per kWh increase in the generation charge (gen charge),” the power distributor said.

Charges from independent power producers (IPP) and power supply agreements (PSA) increased by PHP 0.9392 and PHP 0.4295 per kWh, respectively, mainly due to the peso’s decline. About 98% of IPPs’ costs and 49% of PSA costs were dollar-denominated.

The peso closed at PHP 58.10 a dollar on Oct. 31, weakening by PHP 2.07 from its PHP 56.03 finish on Sept. 30.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice-president and head of corporate communications, attributed the higher IPP charges to the payments for liquefied natural gas terminal fees of First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo plants.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) climbed by PHP 0.015 per kWh, as average demand in the Luzon grid and average capacity on outage increased.

IPPs, PSAs and WESM accounted for 24%, 47%, and 29%, respectively, of the company’s total energy requirement for the period.

Meanwhile, transmission charges likewise rose by PHP 0.0724 per kWh due to higher ancillary service charges from the WESM reserve market.

The reserve market allows the system operator to procure power from the WESM to meet the reserve requirements of the power system.

“Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government,” Meralco said.

The distribution charge has been unchanged at PHP 0.036 per kWh since August 2022. 

Meanwhile, Meralco said that it provided relief to some of its customers affected by the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine.

Meralco customers in areas under a state of calamity with a monthly consumption of less than 200 kWh will not face disconnection until December 2024, in compliance with a presidential directive.

Affected customers may also avail of installment payment schemes for six months for their electricity bills from October to December 2024.

“Meralco has always been considerate of its customers especially during challenging times. We join the government in efforts to help those severely affected by the storm to recover as soon as possible. Qualified customers for the staggered payment arrangement can go to Meralco Business Centers and our personnel will assist them accordingly,” Mr. Zaldarriaga said in a statement.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

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