Meralco February rates up

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers should expect slightly higher power rates this February as the utility firm raised its overall electricity charge by P0.2834 per kWh — reversing the rate reduction that greeted them at the start of the year.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said the overall power rate this month now stands at P12.0262 per kWh, up from P11.7428 in January.

With the adjustment in place, residential customers consuming 200 kWh will see an increase of about P57 in their monthly bill.

Zaldarriaga said the increase was mainly driven by a P0.3845 per kWh rise in the generation charge due to higher costs from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).

IPP charges rose by P0.8355 per kWh due to lower plant dispatch, a weaker peso, and higher liquefied natural gas terminal fees at First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo.

Quezon Power also underwent a scheduled maintenance outage in January under the Department of Energy’s Grid Operating and Maintenance Program. The peso’s depreciation affected 97 percent of IPP costs, which are mostly dollar-denominated.

PSA charges increased by P0.0837 per kWh, also due to the peso’s decline, which impacted 61 percent of PSA costs.

Offsetting these increases was a P0.3005 per kWh drop in charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), as lower demand in the Luzon grid helped temper the impact of more power plants going offline.

Meralco sourced 29 percent of its power from IPPs, 43 percent from PSAs, and 28 percent from WESM.

The transmission charge for residential customers dropped slightly by P0.0013 per kWh, as lower ancillary service charges offset higher reserve market costs from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

Taxes and other pass-through charges increased by P0.1289 per kWh, including a P0.0171 per kWh hike in Universal Charge-Missionary Electrification rates approved by the ERC. This month’s rates reflected a one-time downward adjustment of P0.2264 per kWh and another P0.0023 per kWh reduction, both related to regulatory reset fees as ordered by the ERC.

Pass-through charges for generation and transmission go directly to power suppliers and the grid operator. In contrast, taxes, universal charges, and the Feed-in Tariff Allowance are remitted to the government. Meralco’s distribution charge has remained unchanged since a P0.0360 per kWh reduction in August 2022.

With electricity demand expected to rise in the summer months, Meralco urged customers to practice energy efficiency to manage consumption.

Energy-saving tips include unplugging appliances when not in use, ironing clothes in batches, avoiding overfilling refrigerators, cleaning air conditioner filters regularly, and using LED bulbs.

Meralco also encouraged customers to use the Meralco Appliance Calculator to monitor appliance energy consumption and better manage their electricity bills.