Meralco bares lower rates

MANILA, Philippines - Despite strong demand, customers of power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see electricity bills go down by P0.41 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) this month as overall generation charge decreased due to lower fuel costs of natural gas plants.

Meralco said for residential customers, the overall electricity rate for the month is P8.444 per kwh, which is lower by P1.54 per kwh compared to May 2015’s P9.98 per kwh.

It is also the lowest since January 2010, or over a period of six years.

With this month’s lower rate, a typical household consuming 200 kwh will see a reduction of P82.45 in their electricity bill, P123.67 for 300 kwh, P164.89 for 400 kwh and P206.12 for 500 kwh.

Meralco said the reduction was due to the downward movement in generation, transmission, taxes and other charges.  

Primarily, generation charge decreased by P0.21 per kwh from last month to P3.88 per kwh, which is also P0.93 per kwh lower compared to May 2015’s P4.81 per kwh.

This month’s generation charge is the lowest since October 2004. 

“Power plants utilizing natural gas from Malampaya, namely South Premier-Ilijan, First Gas-Sta. Rita and First Gas-San Lorenzo, all registered reduced charges, mainly due to lower fuel costs. Malampaya natural gas prices are adjusted quarterly and are indexed to world crude oil prices,” Meralco said.

“The current repricing covers months when crude oil spot prices in the world market fell to as low as $31 per barrel,” it said.

The three natural gas plants supplied more than half, or 54 percent, of Meralco’s requirements. 

As a result, charges from the independent power producers (IPPs) decreased by P0.19 per kwh, led by lower rates from the First Gas plants.

Meanwhile, plants under the Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) registered a reduction of P0.25 per kwh, driven by the higher dispatch of Calaca and lower instances of outages of the Masinloc plant.

These offset higher charges from Pagbilao, which was on scheduled maintenance from April 1 to 16. 

Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges also registered a decline of P1.98 per kwh due to fewer power plant outages during the April supply month as compared to March.

At the time, supply was affected by the scheduled maintenance of several large power generating units, including Calaca unit 2, GNPower unit 1, South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp unit 1, Masinloc unit 2 and Quezon Power. 

Transmission charge also registered a decrease of P0.10 per kwh due to the reduction in the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ ancillary charges and slight decrease in Power Delivery Service charge.

As all components declined, taxes and other charges also decreased by P0.10 per kwh.

Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 10 months, after they registered a reduction in July 2015.

Ready for polls

In a related development, Meralco declared it is 100 percent ready for the May 9 polls as it has completed necessary facility monitoring and put in place generator sets.

Meralco said it has completed inspection, maintenance and repair of its distribution facilities to ensure optimal service during elections.

It also completed inspection of polling and canvassing centers within its franchise area, and has made the necessary recommendations to the respective school/building administrators to address potential trouble.

Power demand in the country will not hit peak levels since May 9 was declared a national holiday, Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada said.