MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Tuesday, May 7, that overall electricity rates for the month will decrease to P10.29 per kilowatt hour (kWh) from April’s P10.56.

The downward adjustment of P0.27 per kWh will mean a decrease of P55 in the total bill of a typical household consuming 200 kWh. 

For households consuming more than that, the savings would be:

• 300 kWh – P82
• 400 kWh – P109
• 500 kWh – P136

Meralco said the generation charge went down, primarily due to lower charges from independent power producers and power supply agreements.

The new rates will be reflected in consumers’ May bills.

The Pangilinan-led company implemented the reductions amid price increases in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Prices in WESM increased by P3.53 per kWh due to the tight supply conditions in Luzon.

WESM provides some 12% of Meralco’s total supply needs.

The Luzon grid was placed under red and yellow alerts 7 times last April. – Rappler.com