Meralco hikes November power rates

MANILA  -Higher generation and transmission charges pulled up distributor Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) power rates in November by P0.2357 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

This translates to an increase of P47 in the total electricity bill of customers consuming 200 kWh.

This brings the overall rate for a typical household to P12.0545 per kWh from P11.8198 per kWh in October.

Transmission charge, or the cost of delivering power supply, went up by P0.1211 per kWh due to higher ancillary service charges, Meralco said on Thursday.

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ (NGCP) ancillary service charge for regulating reserves went up fourfold to P91.35 per kilowatt (kW). This accounts for 76.5 percent of total ancillary service charges.

Generation charge, or the cost of power purchased from suppliers that accounts for more than 50 percent of the total bill, went up by P0.0671 to P7.1938 per kWh on the back of higher charges from the spot market and independent power producers (IPPs).

Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges rose by more than a peso per kWh due to tight supply in the power-hungry Luzon grid.

On Oct. 1, NGCP said a “grid disturbance” affected the San Jose-Nagsaag 500-kilovolt transmission line 2, leading to outages in “multiple power plants.”

This resulted in automatic load dropping, or power interruption due to abnormal grid conditions, affecting around 850,000 Meralco customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Charges from IPPs, meanwhile, went up by P0.1093 per kWh as prices in the Malampaya gas field went up.

Last month, higher generation charges also triggered an increase in Meralco’s electricity rate by P0.4201 per kWh, which translates to an upward adjustment of P84 in the total bill of a customer consuming 200 kWh.