Meralco rates up in November

Customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will have to pay more for electricity this month, on the back of higher generation charges for the period.

In an advisory, Meralco said it will increase rates by 42.74 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.8569 per kWh from P11.4295 per kWh the previous month.

This will translate to an upward adjustment of around P85 in the total electricity bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh.

Meralco attributed the upward adjustment to the 28.84 centavos per kWh increase in the generation charge, as charges from independent power producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSAs) increased largely due to the depreciation of the peso which weakened by P2 against the dollar.

Charges from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) also increased by 1.50 centavos per KWh, as average demand in the Luzon Grid grew by about 198 megawatts (MW) while average capacity on outage increased by 179 MW.

The overall increase also comes as the transmission charge grew by 7.24 centavos per kWh due to higher ancillary service charges from the WESM Reserve Market, while taxes and other charges grew by 6.66 centavos per kWh.

In the same advisory, Meralco said customers in areas placed under a state of calamity with monthly consumption of less than 200 kWh per month are spared from disconnection until December 2024, and can avail of installment payment arrangements for six months.

“Meralco has always been considerate of its customers especially during challenging times. We join the government in efforts to help those severely affected by the storm to recover as soon as possible,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.

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.

It ended September with a customer count of 7.99 million, 4% higher than the 7.77 million recorded the same period in 2023.

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.

The company allocated P40 billion for its capital expenditures (capex) this year, including P24 billion for distribution utilities and P4 billion for power generation.—AOL, GMA Integrated News