Meralco hike raises August power bills

Meralco hike raises August power bills | Daily Tribune

Consumers will pay more for power this month as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has raised rates by P0.6268 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in August, the second consecutive month of increase.

At a media briefing on Tuesday, Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said the adjustment brings the overall rate to P13.2703 per kWh from P12.6435 in July.

For households using 200 kWh, this means an additional P125 in their monthly bill.

Zaldarriaga said the hike was mainly due to a P0.3749 per kWh increase in generation charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

Charges from IPPs rose by P0.9476 per kWh due to the nearly P2 depreciation of the peso against the United States dollar, affecting about 99 percent of IPP costs that are dollar-denominated.

WESM charges increased by P0.4582 per kWh due to more capacity outages in the Luzon grid.

A P0.2604 per kWh drop in Power Supply Agreement (PSA) charges from lower fuel prices and better dispatch tempered the hike.

For the period, IPPs, WESM, and PSAs accounted for 25 percent, 7 percent, and 68 percent of Meralco’s supply, respectively.

Transmission charges also went up by P0.1270 per kWh following the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines’ higher Maximum Allowable Revenue and under-recovery collection for 2016 to 2022 as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission. Other charges, including taxes, rose by P0.1249 per kWh.

Meralco said its distribution charge has remained unchanged since a P0.0360 per kWh cut in August 2022. Customers continue to benefit from a P0.2024 per kWh reduction from a distribution-related true-up adjustment.

The utility also warns customers against text scams offering refunds through e-wallets.

“Meralco will never ask for your e-wallet account details or initiate refunds through text messages. We urge our customers to remain cautious and to avoid clicking suspicious links or providing any personal or financial information through text or email,” Zaldarriaga said.