Meralco rates seen higher this month

MANILA, Philippines — Following last month’s decline, the overall rate of power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is likely to be higher in February due to increased generation and transmission costs.

“We are still waiting for all the final billings from our suppliers, but initial indications point to a higher generation charge due to peso depreciation,” Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said yesterday.

The weakening of the local currency against the greenback affected the charges from Meralco’s suppliers, said to be mostly dollar-denominated.

Generation charge, or the cost of power procured by Meralco, makes up more than 50 percent of a customer’s electricity bill.

The company also expects an increase in transmission charges this month due to the recovery of deferred reserve market payments following an Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) order to collect these fees over a three-month period.

Meralco earlier estimated a hike of at least P0.13 per kilowatt-hour in transmission costs per month, or about P26 for typical households consuming 200 kWh monthly.

“We hope these upward pressures will be somehow tempered by the one-time refund of regulatory reset costs of distribution utilities similarly ordered by the ERC effective this month,” Zaldarriaga said.

The refund is equivalent to around P0.23 per kWh for Meralco customers, he noted.

Meralco is set to announce the February rate adjustment today.