Meralco rates lower in Jan-Mar period

By Jordeene B. Lagare – April 28, 2021
from The Manila Times

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said its average retail rates have dropped by 29 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in the first quarter of the year.

Meralco’s average retail rate stood at P7.82 per kWh in the first three months of 2021 from P8.11 per kWh in the same period a year ago.

“The decrease in retail rates was attributed to a 5.6-percent decrease in generation charge owing to the implementation of new power supply agreements in February, lower WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) and fuel prices and the peso appreciation,” said Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco first vice president and regulatory management head.

Valles noted the lower generation and transmission cost and the systems loss over/under-recovery rate refund approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) resulted in a 21.04-percent reduction in system loss charge.

The feed-in-tariff allowance (FiT-All) likewise decreased by 9 percent, resulting in lower FiT-All rate since January 2021 compared to the same period last year.

Transmission charge went down by 0.5 percent due to the ERC-approved transmission over/under recovery implemented since January.

However, Meralco saw its distribution charge rose by 7.1 percent to P1.54 per kWh due to the shift in customer consumption due to quarantine protocols implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Valles explained that with residential distribution rate higher than for other customers, higher residential sales resulted in a higher overall average rate.

“While we continue to work to keep the lights on, we are also cognizant of the challenges our kababayan (countrymen) face during these trying times. Thus, we continue to find ways of providing electricity at the least possible cost to our customers,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and corporate communications head.

Meralco’s shares went down P4.80, or 1.75 percent, to close at P270.20 each on Tuesday.