Meralco cuts electricity rate by P0.118/kWh

MANILA  -Lower generation and transmission charges will cut Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) April electricity rate by P0.118 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the power distributor announced on Tuesday.

This brings down a typical household’s overall electricity rate to P11.3168 per kWh from P11.4348 per kWh in March.

Residential customers consuming 200 kWh can expect a decrease of about P24 in their total electricity bill.

Generation charge, or the cost of purchased power from suppliers and which accounts for more than 50 percent of the total bill, went down to P7.3295 per kWh from P7.3790 per kWh the previous month.

While Meralco collected the first installment of deferred generation costs equivalent to 20 centavos per kWh this billing period, the power firm said this was offset by lower costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and existing power supply agreements (PSAs).

To recall, Meralco last month told its suppliers and the Energy Regulatory Commission that it would implement a staggered collection of  the about P1.1 billion in March generation costs to cushion the impact of the rate increase on its customers.

Spot market charges declined by P1.0462 per kWh due to improved supply in the Luzon grid. Meralco sourced 32 percent of its total power requirement from WESM last month.

PSAs, meanwhile, accounted for 41 percent of Meralco’s requirement for the period.

According to Meralco, charges from PSAs also went down by P0.0741 per kWh on the back of peso appreciation and higher average plant dispatch.

The First NatGas-San Gabriel plant, which sells power to Meralco, returned to normal operations after the 15-day shutdown of the Malampaya gas facility.

All other charges, including transmission charge, taxes and subsidies, also had a net reduction of P0.0685 per kWh, Meralco said.

The power distributor is still implementing one distribution-related refund equivalent to P0.8656 per kWh, which continues to temper residential customers’ monthly bills.

The final refund is set to be completed by May.

In the March billing period, Meralco increased its electricity rate by P0.5453 per kWh due to higher generation charge triggered by the Malampaya shutdown.