Meralco sees less than P0.07/kWh additional charges for ILP this summer

MANILA — The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has estimated a less than 7 centavos per kilowatthour (kWh) additional charges for the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) this summer.

”It might be lower than 7 centavos (per kilowatthour),” Meralco First Vice President and Regulatory Management Head Ivanna Dela Pena said Wednesday during the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) 3rd General Membership Meeting at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.

Dela Pena mentioned the estimate after Aboitiz Power Corporation (APC) First Vice President and Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Manuel Lozano revealed the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) rates in Mindanao had a Php 4-5 increase in their power bills.

The ILP is the de-loading of power demand, through firms and establishments using generator sets.

On Tuesday, Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Executive Director Francis Saturnino Juan said the final ILP guidelines, for the summer, might come up this week.

It will serve as the blueprint for the rules and payment scheme, since the Congress had not reached an agreement on the President’s emergency power.

The impending ILP increase is aside from the Php 1.18 per kWh boost on April and May during the Malampaya plant’s maintenance shutdown.

As of March 16, Meralco and the Retail Electricity Suppliers Association (RESA) had signed a de-loading capacity of 855.91 MW from 253 ILP participants.

It already had two dry runs, with the first having an output of 400 MW and the second producing a capacity of 529 MW.

Meanwhile, Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Zenaida Monsada said the joint-resolution still needs to be passed, which is still hostaged at the Congress due to a lack of agreement of the House of Representatives and the Senate on how the ILP will be paid.

The Senate does not want to subsidize the ILP and pass on the charges to consumers, while the Congress wants to tap the Malampaya royalties for a full subsidy.

Former reports from the Senate, estimated the bill impact of the ILP at Php 0.04 per kWh.