Meralco hikes power rates in June

Following a rollback implemented last month, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is once again increasing electricity rates for June amid higher fuel cost.

According to Meralco, the overall rate for a typical household went up by 39.82 centavos bringing it to P10.4612 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) from P10.0630/kWh in May.

The power rate hike translates to an increase of around P80 in the total bill of a residential customer consuming 200 kWh, P119 for those consuming 300 kWh, P159 for 400 kWh consumption, and P199 for those consuming 500 kWh.

The increase in the overall rate was due to the higher generation charge which went up by 33.13 centavos to P6.5590/kWh from P6.2277/kWh in May.

This, as charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) increased by 60.83 centavos and 8.59 centavos per kWh, respectively, “mainly due to higher fuel costs.”

Meralco said fuel charges from the First Gas power plants went up by 8% with the increased usage of more expensive liquid fuel amid the ongoing Malampaya gas supply restriction.

Likewise, coal prices increased by an average of 23%, contributing to the higher IPP and PSA charges.

Meanwhile, prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) remained elevated as peak demand in the Luzon grid reached a record 12,113 megawatts in May following the continued easing of mobility restrictions and consequent increase in economic activity.

The power distributor noted that June’s generation charge includes the last of three installments covering the deferred generation costs for the March bill and the second of three installments for the April bill, accounting for 20 centavos of the generation charge.

Meralco spread the deferred generation cost in March of 18 centavos in three installments at 6 centavos each in April, May, and June.

The deferred generation cost of 42 centavos for April, meanwhile, was spread in three installments at 14 centavos each in May, June, and July.

Meralco said PSAs, IPPs, and WESM accounted for 48%, 40%, and 12%, respectively, of its energy requirement.

On the other hand, transmission charge for residential customers had a slight increase of 0.83 centavos per kWh, while taxes and other charges also registered a net increase of 5.86 centavos per kWh.

Meralco said the collection of 0.25 centavos kWh Universal Charge-Environmental Charge remains suspended as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

It added that the implementation of distribution-related refunds continues to temper the overall power rate.

For residential customers, the total refund is equivalent to 93.53 centavos per kWh.

Meralco reiterated that it only earns from distribution, supply, and metering charges which have remained unchanged since the reduction in July 2015.

Pass-through charges from generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the system operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government, it said.—AOL, GMA News