Consumers may have to pay more for electricity this December as Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced a slight increase of P0.1048 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in power rates, bringing the overall rate to P11.9617 per kWh from P11.8569 per kWh in November.

For households consuming 200 kWh, this means an additional P21 in their monthly bill.

Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga explained that the rate hike is primarily driven by a P0.1839 per kWh increase in the generation charge, reflecting higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).

WESM charges rose by P0.2531 per kWh due to tighter supply conditions in the Luzon grid, with average capacity outages increasing by about 396 MW.

Meanwhile, PSA charges increased by P0.1050 per kWh due to the peso depreciation, which affected around 51 percent of PSA costs, and lower average PSA dispatch.

Return to normal operations

Notably, the increases were partially offset by a P0.0410 per kWh reduction in charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), as higher IPP dispatch following the return to normal operations of the First Gas Sta. Rita Modules outweighed the impact of peso depreciation on IPP costs.

For the period, WESM, PSAs and IPPs contributed 31.4 percent, 40.2 percent, and 28.3 percent of Meralco’s energy requirements, respectively.

Other factors affecting December rates include a P0.0940 per kWh decrease in the transmission charge due to lower ancillary service costs and a P0.0149 per kWh increase in taxes and other charges.

Meralco clarified that pass-through charges for generation and transmission go to power suppliers and grid operators, while taxes and universal charges are remitted to the government.

Distribution charge unchanged

The company’s distribution charge remains unchanged since its P0.0360 per kWh reduction in August 2022.

‘We encourage all our customers to practice electrical safety to avoid any possible untoward incident. Rest assured that our crews are ready to respond to any concern on electricity service 24/7.’

As the holiday season approaches, Meralco urged customers to prioritize electrical safety to prevent accidents during festive celebrations.

“We encourage all our customers to practice electrical safety to avoid any possible untoward incident. Rest assured that our crews are ready to respond to any concern on electricity service 24/7,” Zaldarriaga said.