Higher generation charge pushes Meralco rates up in December

(This is a press release from the Manila Electric Company.)

MANILA, Philippines –The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Tuesday, December 10, a slight upward adjustment of P0.1048 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the electricity rate this December, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.9617 per kWh from the previous month’s P11.8569 per kWh.

“For our residential customers with a consumption of 200 kWh, this translates to an upward adjustment of P21 in their total electricity bill this month,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Higher generation charge drives overall rate increase

“This month’s increase was largely due to higher generation charge, which goes to our power suppliers,” Zaldarriaga said.

Generation charge increased by P0.1839 per kWh increase in the generation charge, owing to the increased costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).

WESM charges went up by P0.2531 per kWh with the tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid as average capacity on outage increased by around 396 MW.

Charges from PSAs increased by P0.1050 per kWh due to the Peso depreciation, which affected around 51% of PSA costs, and lower average PSA dispatch.

Mitigating the increase in the generation charge was the P0.0410 per kWh decrease in charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The impact of peso depreciation, which affected around 98% of IPP costs, was more than offset by higher average IPP dispatch with the return to normal operations of First Gas Sta. Rita Modules 20 and 30 from their scheduled outage.

WESM, PSAs, and IPPs accounted for 31.4%, 40.2%, and 28.3%, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

Transmission charge and other charges

Transmission charge went down by P0.0940 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges from the Reserve Market.

Taxes and other charges, meanwhile, increased by P0.0149 per kWh.

Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government.

Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer in August 2022.

Meralco reminders

Meralco reminded the public to practice electrical safety to ensure a bright, merry, and accident-free holiday celebrations.

“With various festivities and celebrations, we encourage all our customers to practice electrical safety to avoid any possible untoward incident. Rest assured that our crews are ready to respond to any  concern on electricity service 24/7,” Zaldarriaga said.

The Meralco spokesman also provided electrical safety tips for the holiday season. He provided the following safety tips:

• Remember to unplug Christmas lights and other appliances when not in use or before leaving the house.
• Inspect Christmas lights before reusing. For those who are re-using Christmas lights, check for cracked, frayed, or damaged lights since these are potential fire hazards.
• Avoid using nails and thumb tacks when installing Christmas lights. Using nails, thumb tacks, and wire staples can damage Christmas lights and create fire hazards. Use light hangers instead which are available in hardware and home stores.
• Avoid ‘octopus’ connections. Don’t attempt to plug extension cords into one another or octopus connection. Overloaded electrical outlets or extension cords is one of the most common causes of fire incidents.
• Have an available fire extinguisher at home. To ensure safety during the holiday season, have a working fire extinguisher ready at home in case of emergencies.

Customers can report their concerns through Meralco’s official social media accounts on Facebook (www.facebook.com/meralco) and X formerly Twitter (@meralco). They may also text their concerns to 0920-9716211 or 0917-5516211 or contact the Meralco Hotline at 16211 and 8631-1111. – Rappler.com