Hefty increase in Meralco rate in July

FILE: Meralco personnel read the numbers on the electric meters on a post on Padilla Street in Manila on Tuesday (August 10, 2021). Meralco will hike rates by PHP9.65 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the rate to PHP9.003/kWh versus July’s PHP8.9071/kWh during the enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

By Kris Crismundo, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Residential customers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) consuming 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) a month should expect around a PHP430 increase in their electricity bill this month.

Meralco announced Monday that power rate in its franchise areas in July increased by PHP2.1496 per kWh, bringing the per kWh rate this month to PHP11.6012 this month from PHP9.4516 in June.

It said power costs normalized this month following an artificially lower rates in June and the higher generation charges this month.

Earlier, the distribution utility retracted its announcement of rate increase in June after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered a staggered collection of generation charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for the power supply in May.

The staggered collection will be from July to September 2024.

Meralco said charges from the WESM, power supply agreements (PSAs), and independent power producers (IPPs) increased this month.

Meralco supplied 38 percent of its requirement from PSAs, 34 percent were bought from the WESM, and IPPs accounted for 28 percent of the requirement.

Taxes and other charges also had a net increase of PHP0.3025 per kWh in July.

On the other hand, Meralco slashed its transmission charge by PHP0.1550 per kWh.

“We again appeal for the understanding of our customers over the delayed bills as we sought guidance from the ERC on the implementation of this month’s rate adjustment. Rest assured that Meralco will adjust the due dates to give our customers enough time to settle their bills,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.