Meralco rates up 15 centavos/kWh in Nov.

TYPICAL HOUSEHOLDS in areas served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see an increase in their electricity bills this month, mainly due to higher pass-through charges.

In a statement on Monday, Meralco said the overall rate will increase by P0.1520 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P13.4702 per kWh in November from P13.3182 per kWh in October.

Households consuming 200 kWh will have to pay an additional P30 in their November electricity bills.

Meanwhile, households consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh will see their monthly bills go up by P46, P61, and P76, respectively.

“The increase is primarily driven by the transmission charge and the FIT-All (feed-in tariff allowance),” Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said at a news briefing.

The transmission charge rose by P0.1468 per kWh due to higher ancillary service costs from the reserve market incurred by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

Ancillary services are deployed by the grid operator to support the transmission of power from generators to consumers and to maintain reliable operations.

The upward adjustment in Meralco rates was also attributed to the P0.0884 per kWh increase in FIT-All as the Energy Regulatory Commission recently approved a new rate of P0.2073 per kWh.

The new FIT-All rate will be collected starting this month. It is a uniform charge billed to all on-grid electricity consumers to support the development and promotion of renewable energy sources.

However, the rise in November rates was partially offset by the decrease in the generation charge, which went down by P0.1008 per kWh, due to lower charges from power supply agreements (PSA) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

PSA charges declined by P0.2985 mainly due to the reduction in fuel costs, which more than offset the impact of the peso depreciation.

The WESM rate likewise decreased by P0.6273 per kWh despite tighter supply conditions last month.

“There were negative billing adjustments from prior months that were reflected in the WESM bill. These negative adjustments more than offset the increase in WESM charges,” said Lawrence S. Fernandez, Meralco’s vice-president and head of utility economics.

Meanwhile, charges from independent power producers (IPPs) increased by P0.2481 per kWh due to the peso’s weakness, as their costs are mostly dollar-denominated.

The peso closed at P58.85 per dollar on Oct. 30, weakening by P0.654 from its P58.196 finish on Sept. 30.

PSAs, IPPs, and WESM accounted for 77%, 20%, and 3%, respectively, of the power distributor’s total energy requirement for the month.

Other charges including system loss, subsidies, taxes, and universal charges registered a net increase of P0.0176 per kWh.

“Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively; while taxes, universal charges, and FIT-All are all remitted to the government,” the company said.

Meralco’s distribution charge has not been adjusted since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction in August 2022.

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 an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera