Meralco’s November power rates up by 43 centavos

Inquirer files

An increase in the generation charge means higher electricity bills this month for customers of power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

At a briefing on Tuesday, Meralco said that power rates would go up by P0.4274 per kilowatt hour (kWh), pushing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.8569 per kWh from the previous P11.4295 per kWh.

This means that households consuming 200 kWh monthly will need to pay an additional P85 this November.

READ: ERC chief returns to a Meralco rate hike dilemma

Meralco vice president and corporate communications head Joe Zaldarriaga attributed the increase to the generation charge, which went up by P0.2884 per kWh.

Generation charge covers the cost of power purchased from independent power producers (IPPs), the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and power supply agreements (PSAs).

Breakdown

Charges from IPPs and PSAs rose by P0.9392 and P0.4295 per kWh, respectively, as the peso lost more ground against the US dollar. WESM charges, on the other hand, inched up by P0.02 per kWh due to higher consumer demand because of the upcoming holiday season.

IPPs, PSAs and WESM accounted for 24 percent, 47 percent and 29 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

The official likewise noted a hike in the transmission charge, which reached P0.0724 per kWh, due to higher ancillary service charges from the WESM reserve market.

Zaldarriaga said that while power consumption usually drops during colder months, activities related to holidays and festive events may jack up energy use.