Meralco electricity rates to increase this months of June

FILE PHOTO: Meralco logo. INQUIRER / Edwin Bacasmas

MANILA, Philippines – Consumers should prepare for higher power prices, as the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said on Thursday that electricity rates will increase from P11.4139 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to P12.0575 per kWh this month of June.

According to Meralco in its release, this increase was estimated to reflect around P129 in their monthly bills.

READ: Meralco bills tipped to go up in June

Meralco added that an increased generation charge from higher costs in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) contributed to the higher rates.

“Driving this month’s overall rate increase is the generation charge, which went up by P0.3466 per kWh mainly due to higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” Meralco said.

The electric provider likewise said that WESM charges were higher due to high demand in May and that charges from Independent Power Producers contributed to the increase.

Transmission charges for residential consumers also increased by P0.1450 per kWh caused by “higher ancillary service charges.”

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In contrast, power supply agreements brought a P0.2988 per kWh decrease in charges, Meralco added.

“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,” it said.