Meralco: June power rates down

By: Riza T. Olchondra - 10 years ago

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Electric Co. said Monday electricity rates would go down by around P0.84 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in June, the second straight month of decline.

A typical household consuming 200 kWh will see a reduction of almost P168 reduction in the bill for June. Those consuming 300 kWh will enjoy a cut of P252 while 400 kWh users will see a P336 reduction, and 500 kWh consumers will have their bill trimmed by P420, Meralco said in a press statement.

The country’s largest distribution utility attributed the downward adjustment to lower generation charges from energy suppliers, lower transmission charge, and lower taxes and other charges.

Meralco said the generation charge dropped by P0.66 per kWh to P5.31 per kWh from last month’s P5.97 per kWh. “The cost of power from all generation sources registered downward adjustments,” Meralco said.

The cost of power bought from the energy spot market also declined. Billed volume from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) decreased by P11.94 per kWh, Meralco said.

It may be recalled that generation supply became tight in the supply month of May, leading to a brief round of power outages in the Luzon Grid on May 16. “Despite this, WESM charges in May were lower, partly due to the implementation of the Energy Regulatory Commission’s secondary price cap in the WESM,” Meralco said.

As for other bill components, Meralco said a 200 kWh household will see its transmission charge go down by P0.04 per kWh. There was also a cumulative reduction of P0.05 per kWh in subsidies and the system loss charge. Taxes decreased by P0.09 per kWh.

The distribution charge has not changed since July 2013.

Meanwhile, with the rainy season approaching, Meralco advised its customers to report tree branches that are near or actually touching power lines.

“These may trigger power outages or cause unnecessary accidents,” Meralco said, adding it would send trained personnel to trim the trees.

Customers may contact the Meralco Call Center at 16211 or post their request over Meralco’s Twitter account (@meralco) and Facebook page (www.facebook.com/meralco).