MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Company on Tuesday said that it would increase electricity rates by P0.6427 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) this March, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P13.8161 per kWh this month from P13.1734 per kWh in February.
The distribution utility said that for residential customers with a typical consumption of 200 kWh, this adjustment translates to an increase of around P129 in their total electricity bill.
Meralco said what drove the increase was the 70 percent hike in ancillary service charges incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from the Reserve Market, which accounted for almost half of the total transmission charge this billing month.
The generation charge also went up due to the second extension of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with First Gas-Sta. Rita and the inclusion of the contract price adjustment of ACEN Corporation, Panay Energy Development Corp., South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) and Sual Power Inc. (SPI), as they were allowed by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to recover some of their costs due to changes in circumstance.
Meralco also clarified that these increases did not reflect the current conflict in the Middle East and would appear in the April billing, depending on how the situation will develop.