Transmission rate hike hits February bills

Power consumers will see higher transmission charges in their February electric bills due to a jump in transmission rates.

The National Grid Corporation  of the Philippines (NGCP), the country’s only transmission operator, reported on Thursday that the overall average transmission rate for the January billing period, which is reflected in bills this month, rose 13.55 percent to P1.5279 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from P1.3455/kWh.

The Ancillary Services (AS) rate, which covers costs from the AS Reserve Market and bilateral contracts with the NGCP, stands at P0.6736/kWh. 

Transmission wheeling rate

Meanwhile, NGCP’s transmission wheeling rate — the fee for delivering electricity through the grid — is P0.6921/kWh.

“For the February electric bill of power consumers, NGCP charges only around 69 centavos per kWh for the delivery of its services,” NGCP said, noting that its revenues are regulated and revenue-capped by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

January billing period

Transmission charges for the January billing period are passed on to end-users through distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.

Across Manila Electric Co.’s service area alone, higher transmission fees contributed to a P0.2226 per kWh increase in overall rates, raising the total to P13.1734 per kWh from P12.9508 in January. 

A typical household within the Meralco service area, consuming 200 kWh could see their monthly bill rise by about P45.