ERC-backed measures pull down Meralco’s May power rate

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) lowered its electricity rate for May by P0.0151 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P14.3345 per kWh from P14.3496 per kWh in April.

Meralco attributed the slight reduction to mitigating measures approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which helped offset higher generation costs driven by global fuel prices and peso depreciation.

“Despite initial indications of an increase, Meralco power rates this May had a modest reduction,” Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said at a media briefing on Wednesday.

“This was achieved through the proactive efforts led by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to cushion the impact of potentially high rates as a result of the geopolitical tensions that ultimately affect energy prices,” he added.

Bills may still go up depending on consumption

Still, Zaldarriaga cautioned consumers that electricity bills may rise if power consumption increases during the summer months.

“While our customers stand to benefit from relatively stable rates this May, we would like to advise our customers that the bills that they will receive may still go up depending on their actual consumption, which usually increases during the summer months,” he said.

Meralco said the rate reduction was driven largely by the acceleration of its ongoing refund, following the ERC’s directive to complete the remaining P14.2-billion refund within 12 months rather than two years.

As a result, the refund rate for residential customers increased to P0.4278 per kWh from P0.2024 per kWh.

Taxes and other charges also declined by a net P0.1482 per kWh.