Power rates up in July

 

MANILA, Philippines – This month, electricity bills will go up by P0.03 ($0.00069) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) or P6 ($0.14) for a typical household consuming 200 kWh, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced Thursday, July 10.

The adjustment was due to higher generation and transmission charges, Meralco said.

The adjustment comes after two straight months of decline in power rates, totaling P0.89 ($0.0205) per kWh – P0.05 in May and P0.84 in June.

A reduction in Meralco’s distribution charge mitigated the increase in other charges in July.

Charges

Generation charge, the biggest component of the bill, went up by P0.10 ($0.0023) per kWh to P5.41 ($0.13) this month from P5.31 ($0.12) in June.

A favorable peso-dollar rate coupled with cheaper coal prices tempered the increase in generation charge, Meralco said.

The generation charge increase was primarily due to the P0.26 ($0.006) per kWh increase in the average rate of suppliers with Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) with Meralco, and the P0.10 ($0.002) jump in the rate of Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

The adjustments were partly offset by the P4.24 ($0.097) per kWh reduction in the average price of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), inclusive of line rentals and other adjustments.

In terms of share in Meralco’s total power requirements for the June supply month, PSAs, IPPs, and WESM accounted for 53%, 41%, and 6%, respectively.

Meralco said the generation charge also went up due to lower dispatch and outages of some power plants during the June supply month.

Also contributing to the overall adjustment in bills was the P0.08 ($0.0018) per kWh increase in transmission charge.

According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), this was largely because of higher ancillary charges, which accounted for around 40% of the total transmission cost for the July billing.

There was also a cumulative increase of P0.002 ($0.000046) per kWh in subsidies and the system loss charge. Taxes, meanwhile, decreased by P0.003 ($0.00007) per kWh.

Lower Meralco charges

Mitigating the increases in the generation and transmission charges for a residential customer consuming 200 kWh was the P0.15 ($0.0035) per kWh reduction in the distribution, supply, and metering charges of Meralco. 

The lower Meralco charges will remain for the duration of regulatory year 2015 (July 2014 to June 2015).

Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such generation and transmission.

Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers such as the plants selling to Meralco through the WESM and under the PSAs, as well as the IPPs. Payment for the transmission charge, meanwhile, goes to the NGCP, Meralco said.

Of the total bill, only the distribution, supply, and metering charges accrue to Meralco, the company added.

Meralco is also reminding its customers to continuously save on electricity. Meralco said that appliances should be in tip-top condition so as to maximize their reliability and efficiency.

“… Given the number of scheduled outages of several large power plants for the rest of the year, it is of great importance to be vigilant in terms of supply adequacy,” Meralco added. – Rappler.com

 

 

 

*($1 = P43.28)