Meralco rates down for fifth month
HOUSEHOLDS in Metro Manila will see lower electricity bills for the fifth straight month in September, according to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The country’s largest electricity distributor said in a statement on Monday that overall electricity rates will drop by 52.6 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P9.0414/kWh in September from last month’s P9.5674/kWh due to lower overall generation charges.
This means that households consuming 200 kWh — who make up the biggest residential customer segment — will see their power bills decrease by P105 this month. This marks the fifth consecutive month of electricity rate drop since April, with the total decline now almost at P1.52/kWh.
Meralco saw generation charges dip by 44.29 centavos/kWh to P4.5191/kWh this month, mainly due to lower charges at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Improved supply conditions in the Luzon grid prompted a P3.6503/kWh decrease in WESM charges. WESM’s supplied 17% of Meralco’s needs in the August supply month, whose charges are reflected in September bills.
The cost of power from power supply agreements fell by 15.22 centavos/kWh because of lower fuel prices. PSAs accounted for 44% of Meralco’s supply.
This offset the higher cost of power sourced from independent power producers (IPPs), which gained 48.44 centavos/kWh due to lower average plant dispatch and a weaker peso, since about 95% of IPPs’s costs are dollar-denominated. IPPs contributed 39% of Meralco’s supply needs.
The transmission charge for residential customers inched up 0.56 centavos, but was offset by the decrease in taxes and other charges by 8.86 centavos/kWh.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — A. B. Francia