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MANILA – The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Friday that power rates this month would rise due to higher generation charges triggered by the maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas field in February.
Electricity charges in March will increase to PHP11.4348 per kilowatt hour (kWh), a PHP0.5453 increment from PHP10.8895 per kWh rate in the previous month.
This would translate to an upward adjustment of PHP109 on the electricity bill of households consuming 200 kWh.
“This month’s generation charge increase would have been significantly higher, but we took the initiative to cushion the impact in the bills of our customers by coordinating with some of our suppliers to defer collection of portions of their generation costs,” Meralco head of regulatory management office Jose Ronald Valles said.
Valles said a total of PHP1.1 billion in deferred costs helped in the reduction of the generation rate for this month by about PHP0.40 per kWh.
As coordinated with the Energy Regulatory Commission, this will be billed on a staggered basis for two months starting April.
Meralco said charges from independent power producers (IPPs) went up by PHP0.5784 per kWh.
“The 15-day shutdown of the Malampaya facility compelled the First Gas-Sta. Rita and First Gas-San Lorenzo plants to operate using more expensive alternative fuel to ensure continuity of supply. Also contributing to the increase were Quezon Power’s maintenance shutdown, which was scheduled on Jan. 21 until Feb. 19 to ensure availability during the summer months,” it said.
Meralco said the weaker peso has also affected the increase in generation charges this month.
“Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges were higher by PHP1.4795 per kWh, resulting from an increase in demand in the Luzon grid,” it added.
On the other hand, charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) were flat “due to the deferral of collection of a portion of PSA costs.”
Higher transmission and other charges also contributed to the increase in power rates in Meralco franchise areas this month. (PNA)
