By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter
RESIDENTIAL HOUSEHOLDS in areas served by Manila Electric Co., (Meralco) will see higher electricity bills this month as the power distributor hikes rates due to higher generation and transmission charges.
The overall rate will increase by P0.6268 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P13.2703 per kWh in August from P12.6435 per kWh in July, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Households consuming 200 kWh will see an upward adjustment of around P125. Those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh will have to pay an additional P188, P251, and P313, respectively.
Meralco attributed the increase to the generation charge which rose by P0.3749 per kWh. Generation charge typically accounts for more than 50% of the electricity bill.
“The generation charge increased by 37 centavos per kilowatt-hour due to higher charges from independent power producers (IPPs) as well as the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said at a briefing.
Charges from IPPs climbed by P0.9476 per kWh, reflecting the weakening of the peso against the US dollar. Around 99% of IPP costs were dollar-denominated.
The peso closed at P58.32 on July 31, weakening by nearly P2 from its P56.33 finish on June 30.
“Because many of the costs of generation plants are denominated in dollars, such as fuel usage, the peso equivalent of their costs increased,” Lawrence S. Fernandez, vice-president and head of utility economics, said.
Mr. Fernandez said the company expects the peso-dollar exchange rate as a major factor that may affect power bills for September.
“So, we’ll have to monitor what the exchange rate will be until the end of the month,” he said.
WESM charges edged up by P0.4582 per kWh due to increase in average capacity on outage in the Luzon grid.
The increases in IPP and WESM charges were partly cushioned by the P0.2604 per kWh drop in charges from power supply agreements (PSAs). This was attributed to lower coal and liquified natural gas prices and improved delivery.
IPPs, WESM, and PSAs accounted for 25%, 7%, and 68%, respectively, of the power distributor’s total energy requirement for the period.
Contributing to higher electricity rate this month was the transmission charge, which rose by P0.1270 per kWh. The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines started the collection of under-recoveries equivalent to P0.0384 per kWh over 84 months, as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Other charges, including taxes, also increased by P0.1249 per kWh.
“Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance are all remitted to the government,” the company said.
Meralco’s distribution charge remained unchanged since the P0.0360 per kWh in August 2022.
Meanwhile, consumers continue to benefit from Meralco’s refund of P0.2024 per kWh as part of ongoing implementation of the distribution-related true-up adjustment.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.
