Meralco rates drop in September

MANILA, Philippines – September power rates dropped by P0.57 per kilowatt hour (kWh) due to a lower generation charge last month.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said Monday, September 7, that residential customers with an average monthly consumption of 200 kWh will enjoy a P113.46 reduction in their electricity bills this month; P170.19 for a 300 kWh consumption; P226.92 for 400 kWh; and P293.65 for 500kWh.

Meralco said this month’s power rates cut brings the total reduction to P2.13 per kWh over the past 5 months.

September’s reduction also marks the seventh time this year that rates have gone down. At P8.55 per kWh, this month’s overall rate is lower by P1.81 compared to September 2014’s P10.36 per kWh, Meralco said.

“This is the lowest in more than 5 years or since January 2010,” Meralco said.
 
Decline in generation costs

The lower rate was mainly on account of a decline in generation costs from Power Sales Agreements (PSAs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) due to higher dispatch, Meralco said.
 
Generation charge, the largest component of a Meralco bill, decreased by P0.42 per kWh from August. At P4.13 per kWh, this September’s generation charge is also the lowest since January 2010.

Several large generating units, namely, South Premiere Power (Ilijan); Sem-Calaca Power; Quezon Power; and Therma Luzon (Pagbilao) improved their dispatch levels in August after experiencing plant outages during the July 2015 supply month.

In particular, Ilijan increased dispatch level from only 48% in the July supply month to 81% in August. Ilijan 1 was on a scheduled maintenance in July while Ilijan 2 was derated during the Malampaya gas restriction from July 13 to 16.
 
Meanwhile, lower fuel costs from Malampaya brought down prices from the First Gen plants – Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo.

Apart from the lower generation costs, Meralco said there was an adjustment – cover cost deductions from Malampaya, following the supply restrictions from previous months – from prior months that helped further bring down the generation charge for September.
 
Charges from the WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) registered a negligible increase of P0.006 per kWh.

In addition to the generation charge, transmission charge also registered a reduction of P0.04 per kWh due to lower power delivery service and ancillary service charges.

Taxes and other charges likewise went down by P0.05 per kWh and P0.06 per kWh, respectively. – Rappler.com