Meralco rates to increase again

MANILA, Philippines — Electricity rates in Manila Electric Co. (Meralco)’s franchise area are poised for another increase this February – potentially the fourth straight month of increase.

“While we have yet to receive final billings from our suppliers, there is an upward pressure on the electricity rates this month,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.

The pressure is due to the completion of a distribution-related refund equivalent to  19 centavos per kilowatt-hour for residential customers.

“However, we are optimistic that this can be mitigated by lower WESM prices, given the improved Luzon grid situation amid lower demand and less power plants on outage, as well as the absence of yellow alert in the last supply month,” Zaldarriaga said, referring to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Meralco rates went up for the third straight month in January due to higher generation charge and completion of a distribution-related refund. The overall rate for a typical household last month saw an upward adjustment of P0.6232 per kWh to P10.9001 per kWh.

Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges and FIT-All are all remitted to the government.