RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS in areas served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see higher electricity bills this month, with typical households set to pay about P84 more.
In a statement, Meralco said the overall rate for a typical household increased by P0.4201 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) to P11.8198/kWh in October from P11.3997/kWh in September.
The adjustment is equivalent to an increase of about P84 in the total electricity bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
Households that consume 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh will see an increase of P126, P168 and P210, respectively, in their October billing.
Meralco attributed this month’s higher power rates to the P0.3015 increase in the generation charge to P7.1267 per kWh from P6.8252 last month.
Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco spokesperson and vice-president for corporate communications, told a virtual briefing the generation charge went up due to higher charges from power supply agreements (PSA) and independent power producers (IPP).
PSAs, which accounted for 47% of its energy requirements for the month, increased by P0.1658/kWh. Meralco said this was partly due to the forced shutdown of the 420-megawatt (MW) FirstNatGas-San Gabriel power plant after gas supply from Malampaya was restricted. However, this was offset by lower coal prices.
Charges from IPPs rose by P0.4599/kWh due to the rising cost of fuel used by the First Gas plants.
“The persisting supply restriction of the Malampaya natural gas field compelled the 1,000-MW First Gas-Sta. Rita and 500-MW First Gas-San Lorenzo power plants to switch to more expensive alternative fuel to ensure supply continuity,” Meralco said.
Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) inched up by P0.0525/kWh as the supply situation in the Luzon grid improved last month. WESM accounted for 18% of Meralco’s total energy requirements in September.
Transmission charges also saw a net increase of P0.0264/kWh due to higher ancillary service charges, Meralco said.
“Because of the higher generation and transmission charges, taxes and other charges subsequently registered a net increase of P0.0661/kWh,” it said.
The power utility said universal charges increased by P0.0264/kWh to P0.2238/kWh. This after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved a higher universal charge for missionary electrification.
Last month, the ERC extended the suspension of the collection of the feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) of P0.364/kWh. FIT-All is collected from on-grid electricity customers to fund the payment to renewable energy developers in a bid to support the development and promotion of renewables.
Meanwhile, Lawrence S. Fernandez, vice-president and head of utility economics of Meralco, said the two upcoming liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Batangas City would ensure the reliability of LNG supply in the grid, when Malampaya gas supply is not available.
Meanwhile, Meralco is on standby for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Oct. 30, Mr. Zaldarriaga said.
Meralco has already inspected 3,000 polling and canvassing centers within its franchise area. It has also prepared over 300 generator sets and close to 800 flood lights that can be used in case of power interruptions.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — SJT
