HIGHER POWER RATE IN AUGUST – MERALCO

Power distributor Meralco to have an increase in charges for the August electricity bill (Photo courtesy of Philippine Star)

After the high rate in July, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced that their customers will have to pay more for electricity this August as the power rate in its franchise areas increased by P0.0327 per kilowatt hour (kWh).

An increase by P0.0327/kWh this August making the current rate for typical household now at P11.6339/kWh. This means an extra P7 in a residential customer that consumes 200 kWh.

The attributed reason for this is the high billing of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to pay for the ancillary service that ensures the electricity reserve. 

“The upward adjustment to the P0.1086 per kWh increase in transmission charges, on the back of higher charges of the grid operator for ancillary service which increased by more than 50% as charges for contingency and dispatchable reserves doubled.”

The power distributor also said that August's Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) fees increased by P0.5940 per kWh as a result of the third of four deferred cost installments that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered to be collected.

Meralco has not yet said if the charge reduction is possible next month, because 70 percent of the reserve settlement transactions in March have not yet been charged by NGCP. After the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) postponed it due to the ballooning transmission charge last summer. 

Besides that, it is also possible that the generation cost of the first gas Santa Rita and San Lorenzo plants that supply electricity to Meralco from Malampaya gas may increase.

Meralco rates marks the second consecutive monthly increase after a significant P2 hike in July citing “the normalization of power costs.”

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer 

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