‘This will be primarily driven by lower WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices due to improved supply situation in the Luzon Grid as both average peak demand and average capacity on outage went down in the December supply month’
Electricity users can expect lower bills in January, resulting from reduced generation charges.
“Indications show a possible decrease in the generation charge in our customers’ bills this January,” Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said on Thursday.
“This will be primarily driven by lower WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices due to improved supply situation in the Luzon Grid as both average peak demand and average capacity on outage went down in the December supply month,” he added.
While the exact adjustment has yet to be announced, the reduction is expected to offset the December rate hike.
Last month, power rates increased by P0.1048 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), raising the overall rate to P11.9617 per kWh from P11.8569 per kWh in November. For households consuming 200 kWh, it translated to a P21 increase in monthly bills.
The December rate hike was largely due to a P0.1839 per kWh increase in the generation charge, reflecting higher costs from WESM and Power Supply Agreements.
In a separate statement, Arjon Valencia, Corporate Planning and Communications Manager at the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, confirmed a downtrend in power prices in the previous month.
Citing the latest data from the market operator, he said electricity prices dropped in December due to higher supply and lower demand across all regions. System-wide supply grew by 3.4 percent to 20,150 MW, while demand fell by 2.8 percent to 13,275 MW. This caused the average price to decrease by 21.9 percent to P3.45/kWh.
Total energy generation for December fell by 6.3 percent to 9,245 GWh from 9,867 GWh in November.
Renewable energy made up 24.5 percent of the total, with wind generation increasing significantly from 120 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to 166 GWh. Coal and natural gas contributed 58.9 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
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