MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Friday that its rates would go up in April due to an increase in generation charge resulting from the weakening of the peso against the dollar.
The P0.5335 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) add-on will bring the overall rate for a household to P14.3496 per kWh this month from P13.8161 per kWh in March. This means that for residential customers with a typical consumption of 200 kWh, the adjustment will translate to an increase of around P107 in their total electricity bill.
The distribution utility said the P0.5257 per kWh increase in the generation charge brought about by the weakening of the peso against the US Dollar has affected the First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo gas plants (First Gas) and some of Meralco’s other power supply agreements (PSAs) that depended on the dollar.
Meanwhile, the transmission charge for residential customers, went down by P0.0656 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from the Reserve Market.
Other charges, including taxes, registered a net increase of P0.0734 per kWh.
Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively; while taxes, universal charges, and renewable energy subsidies are all remitted to the government.
Meralco’s distribution charge has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer was implemented in August 2022.
Meralco also noted that residential consumers also continued to benefit from the on-going Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT) adjustments/ refund during the period which amounted to P0.2024 per kWh.
