Consumers are set to get some financial relief this month as electricity prices decline. 

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s largest power distributor, announced Tuesday a reduction of P0.3557 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in December, bringing the overall rate to P13.1145 per kWh from last month’s P13.4702 per kWh.

“For our residential customers with a typical consumption of 200 kWh, this translates to a decrease of around P71 in their total electricity bill this month,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said. 

“With the holiday season approaching, we hope this rate adjustment gives much-needed relief for our customers,” he added.

The company said the rollback was mainly driven by lower transmission and generation charges. 

Transmission charges fell by P0.1462 per kWh, following reduced ancillary service costs from the Reserve Market incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Generation charges likewise declined by P0.1358 per kWh as Independent Power Producer rates dropped by P0.2127 per kWh. 

Meralco attributed this to lower natural gas prices, improved plant dispatch, and the appreciation of the peso, which affected mostly dollar-denominated supplier costs.

These reductions helped offset slight increases in rates under Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which went up by P0.0706 and P0.8086 per kWh, respectively. 

PSA rates rose due to the scheduled maintenance of San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. from 27 October to 25 November, while WESM charges climbed despite softer November demand because there were smaller downward adjustments to the market bill.

For the month, IPPs accounted for 21 percent of Meralco’s supply mix, PSAs for 73 percent, and WESM for 6 percent. Taxes and other charges also posted a net reduction of P0.0737 per kWh. 

The company added that its distribution charge has remained unchanged since a P0.0360 per kWh cut in August 2022.