Meralco rates down in April

Customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will be greeted with slightly lower electricity rates this month, following the decline in generation and transmission charges.

In an advisory, Meralco said it will cut down rates by 98.79 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in April, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P10.9518/kWh from P11.9397/kWh in March.

This translates to an estimated reduction of P198 in the total electricity bill of residential customers consuming 200kWh.

“The significant reduction in this month’s overall electricity rate more than wiped out the increases in power rates for the first quarter of the year,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.

“Despite the rate reduction, Meralco continues to encourage its customers to continue practicing energy efficiency especially during summer when consumption historically increases anywhere from 10% to 40% due to warmer temperatures,” he added.

This comes as generation charges were reduced by 36.13 centavos per kilowatt-hour, on the back of lower costs from independent power producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSAs), which offset the increase in wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) charges.

Charges from IPPs fell by P1.0701/kWh and from PSAs by P0.5733/kWh, while those from WESM increased by P1.0114/kWh due to tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid, as average demand grew by 618 megawatts (MW).

Meralco also renewed its call for participation in the government’s interruptible load program (ILP), where large-load customers are asked to use their generator sets or shift their operations instead of drawing power from the grid.

The Pangilinan-led company geared up for the summer season in February, as it said it has enough reserves to cater to the expected demand amid the ongoing El Niño.

It also allocated P40 billion for its capital expenditures (capex) this year, which includes P24 billion for distribution utilities, P4 billion for power generation, and parts going to other systems.

Meralco constructs, operates, and maintains electric distribution systems in the cities and municipalities of Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, and Rizal, as well as certain areas in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, and Quezon.

The firm counts as subsidiaries and associates Vantage Energy Solutions and Management Inc. and MeridianX Inc., acting as retail electricity suppliers in Luzon and the Visayas. —KG, GMA Integrated News