Feb electricity bills higher as NGCP reflects Train

Distribution utilities and other power customers will see in their bills for this month the 12-percent value added tax (VAT) on the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) wheeling charge, as provided for in the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

This means that end users such as households will, in turn, see the VAT on power transmission services in their bills in February, as distributors will have to pass it on to their own customers.

NGCP spokesperson Cynthia Perez-Alabanza said yesterday that wheeling charges would account for 5.6 percent of an end-user’s monthly bill.

“We will start implementing this in our January bill,” Alabanza said. “It’s the law and we will follow it, barring any unexpected [regulatory] issuance.”

She declined to give a monetary value, explaining that NGCP bills based on kilowatt-months instead of kilowatt-hours as do distributors like the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

According to Meralco, the monthly bill of a typical residential customer—one that uses 200 kwh a month—pays a total of about P1,800 including the wheeling charge.

For such a consumer, NGCP’s wheeling charge would account for P100.80 for a month’s bill. At such charge, the VAT would ring up to P12.10, translating to 6 centavos per kwh.