Meralco rates up by P0.3907/kWh in September billing
By Myrna M. Velasco – September 8, 2022, 3:14 PM
from Manila Bulletin
The customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) customers will shoulder higher power rate in their electric bills this month as the rate pass-on of the giant utility firm will increase by P0.3907 per kilowatt hour.
The overall tariff of the company escalated to P9.9365 this September billing cycle from a leaner P9.5458 per kWh last month, hence, this will result in P78 hike in the bills of those in the 200-kWh usage bracket.
Meralco explained that the rate uptick had been mainly traced to the P0.3581per kWh jump in the generation charge, which accounts for the biggest component being reflected in the bills.
The power utility firm’s generation charge this month climbed to P6.9393 per kWh from the P6.5812 per kWh in August.
Further, Meralco indicated that ancillary services (AS) costs of the transmission charge of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) slightly dropped by P0.0432 per kWh; while taxes and other charges logged a net increase of P0.0758 per kWh – that was inclusive of additional P0.0239 per kWh universal charge for missionary electrification (UC-ME) which had been recently ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
When it comes to the generation charge which makes up more than 50-percent of the pass-through costs in the bills, Meralco noted that the charges of its contracted independent power producers (IPPs) inched up by P0.8026 per kWh; and billings from its power supply agreements (PSAs) rose by P0.3316 per kWh.
According to the power utility company, the higher generation charges had been mainly “driven by higher fuel costs and the peso depreciation.”
Meralco emphasized that “the ongoing Malampaya gas supply restriction necessitated the increased use of more expensive alternative fuel by First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo to ensure a continuous supply.”
The company expounded that “the peso depreciation also pushed up charges from the IPPs and PSAs since 98-percent of total IPP costs and 36-percent of PSA costs are dollar-denominated,” stressing that “the continued rise in international coal prices also contributed to the PSA rate increase.”
Conversely, the power firm cited that the uptrend in IPP and PSA charges had been offset by “lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which registered a reduction of P3.7473 per kWh, as the supply situation in the Luzon grid improved.”
Meralco added that the lower weather temperatures generally triggered decrease in average daily peak demand, hence, “there was no yellow alert in August and the frequency of secondary price cap imposition went down to 4.7-percent of the time from 27.62-percent in July.”
The power firm’s electricity supply procurements last month had been dominated by its PSAs with 48-percent share; then followed by IPP contracts with 42-percent fraction in the pie; and the balance of 10-percent had been sourced from the spot market.”
