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Meralco rates rise in November

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Meralco rates rise in November

AFP

The increase comes after 6 straight months of reduction, but Meralco says this month’s overall rate is lower by P1.51 compared to November 2014’s P10.06/kWh

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced in November that overall rates have gone up by P0.13 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to P8.55 per kWh.

Thus consumers will pay for higher electricity rates this month following lower rates registered in October. (READ: Meralco rates decline in October)

The upward adjustment comes after 6 straight months of reduction. Power rates have been declining for the past 6 consecutive months for a total reduction of P2.26 per kilowatt hour, the utility firm said.

Still, this month’s overall rate is lower by P1.51 compared to November 2014’s P10.06 per kWh, Meralco said.
 
For a typical household consuming 200 kWh, the P0.13 per kWh rate increase is equal to P26 in additional payment.

Higher generation charge

Meralco said the rise was mainly due to higher generation charge, which makes up close to 50% of a Meralco bill. Other electricity bill components also shot up.
 
Generation charge for October supply month stood at P4.08 per kWh, up by P0.09 per kWh from September. Generation charge is reflected in the power bills of Meralco consumers the following month.

Meralco sources power from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).

Charges from the WESM registered an increase of P1.19 per kWh due to increased outages of a number of power plants during the October supply month.

The average rate of the plants under the IPPs, meanwhile, increased by P0.10 per kWh because of lower dispatch of the plants, which was partly offset by lower natural gas prices.  

Plants under the PSAs registered a reduction of P0.02 per kWh mainly due to the higher dispatch of the Sual power plant, which logged a shorter outage duration for the October supply month compared to the previous month.

The share of PSAs, IPPs, and WESM to Meralco’s total power requirements stood at 49.5%, 45.6%, and 4.8%, respectively.

In addition to the generation charge, transmission charge registered an increase of P0.02 per kWh due to higher ancillary service charges.

There was also a combined increase of P0.02 per kWh in taxes and other charges, such as system loss and subsidies, following the increases in the generation and transmission charges.

Meralco’s distribution, supply, and metering charges remain unchanged after it registered a reduction in July.

Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges, and payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines. – Rappler.com

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