Power rates up by 22 centavos

MANILA, Philippines – Households in areas serviced by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will have to pay P0.22 more per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for their electricity consumption this month.

In a statement, Meralco said the rate increase is due to higher generation charge and the recently approved Feed-in Tariff (FIT) allowance.

Households consuming 200 kwh should expect to pay P44.48 more.

Those with monthly consumption of 300 kwh should expect an increase of P66.72 in their bills, while those consuming 400 kwh and 500 kwh would have to pay P88.96 and P111.20 more, respectively.

The power distributor noted, however, this month’s rate of P8.86 per kwh is P1.82 lower than the P10.68 per kwh in the same month last year.

Current generation charge is P0.10 per kwh higher than last month’s. 

Higher charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market –  P2.23 per kwh – pushed up the generation charge.

“Peak demand in the Luzon grid increased by more than 500 MW from February to March supply months with the approach of summer,” Meralco said.

Meanwhile, the costs of energy sourced from the Power Supply Agreements and Independent Power Producers registered slight reductions of P0.02 and P0.01 per kwh, respectively, mainly due to the higher dispatch of a number of plants, along with the appreciation of the peso in March.

Meralco also explained the FIT-All would start to reflect a charge of P0.12 per kwh beginning this month, an increase from P0.04 per kwh.

Last February, the Energy Regulatory Commission provisionally approved a higher FIT-All, a component of the bill remitted to the National Transmission Corp. for payment to renewable energy developers.

Meanwhile, other bill components also registered slightly higher rates for the month.

Transmission charge registered an increase of P0.01 per kwh while taxes and other charges likewise increased by P0.03 per kwh in step with higher generation and transmission charges.

On the other hand, Meralco’s distribution charge remains unchanged after a reduction in July last year.

With the prevailing dry spell, Meralco is urging customers to employ energy saving measures.

“Unplug appliances that are not in use, as appliances in standby mode still consume electricity. Also, keep appliances clean and properly maintained to ensure that they work efficiently – poorly maintained and dirty appliances consume more electricity,” it said.

“When buying new lights and appliances, it may be a good idea to consider the LED and inverter types. The initial cost to buy them may be higher, but they are more energy efficient and will ensure significant savings on electricity costs in the long run,” Meralco added.