Meralco raises power rates for August

INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said Friday that higher generation and other charges would increase the electricity bills of a typical residential customer this month by 31 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Thus, an average household with a 200-kWh consumption will see a P62 increase in the electricity bill for this month.

Meralco attributed the increase, which comes after a cumulative reduction of 86 centavos per kWh since May, to higher generation charges, higher universal charge, lifeline subsidy, and taxes.

There was no change in Meralco’s distribution charge, while transmission charge showed a slight reduction.

The impact of billing from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and power plant outages aggravated by Typhoon “Glenda” raised the cost of power, Meralco said.

Generation charge for August 2014 went up by 23 centavos per kWh, from P5.41 per kWh to P5.64 per kWh. Largely contributing to this were the WESM billing adjustments from prior periods which accounted for around 17 centavos per kWh and an increase of 6 centavos per kWh in the average cost of contracted power supply sourced from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).

Supply shortfall

There was a shortfall in power supply due to forced and scheduled outages of various plants, aggravated by the impact of Glenda. The damages caused by the typhoon to some transmission and generating facilities limited the output of a number of power plants in Southern Luzon. This led to the lower dispatch of the affected plants.

But the presence of the secondary WESM price caps helped moderate the increase in WESM charges, Meralco said.

Universal charge increased by 4 centavos per kWh, as collection for the previously deferred universal charge—missionary electrification that resumed starting August 2014. Taxes and subsidies, meanwhile, registered increases of 2 centavos and 3 centavos per kWh, respectively.

Meralco’s distribution charge remained unchanged, while the transmission charge went down by one centavo per kWh, due to the lower ancillary charges.

For the July supply month, a number of power plant units pushed through with their scheduled outages, including Pagbilao 1, and Ilijan 1 and 2. Further depleting supply of power were 20 new forced outages of several power plant units of various durations during the month (due to Glenda or otherwise) such as Sta. Rita Units 10, 20 and 30, Calaca 1 and 2, GN Power 1and 2, Sual 1 and 2, Ilijan 1 and 2, Pagbilao 1 and 2, Masinloc 1 and 2, San Lorenzo Units 50 and 60, Therma Mobile 2 and 4, and Quezon Power, in addition to the continuing forced outage of Sta. Rita 40.

In terms of share to Meralco’s total power requirements for the July supply month, PSAs, IPPs, and WESM contributed 53 percent, 40 percent, and 7 percent, respectively.

The country’s largest distribution utility reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as generation and transmission, among other bill components. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers such as the plants selling to Meralco through the WESM and under the PSAs and IPPs. Payment for the transmission charge, meanwhile, goes to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). Of the total bill, only the distribution, supply, and metering charges accrue to Meralco.

Meralco also said that with the onset of the rainy season and the onslaught of strong typhoons, the company urged its customers to be extra careful and be safety-conscious in dealing with electrical poles and wires that may be toppled by strong winds and rain.

RELATED STORIES

Is Meralco telling whole story?

Meralco accused of jacking up rates