Meralco dropping P0.1458 per kWh from Sept.’s electricity rates

Customers of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will be greeted by slightly lower electricity rates this September as a result of a decline in generation charges.

Meralco said it is lowering electricity prices by P0.1458 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P10.0732 per kWh from P10.2190 in August 2018.

Lower charges at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), resulted in  lowering the generation charge by P.0772 per kWh from P5.3491 per kwh in August to P5.2719 per kWh.

WESM charges, on the other hand, decreased by P2.0768 per kWh because of less power plant outages and lower average power demand in Luzon.

This would translate to a reduction of P29 in the total bill of a typical household consuming 200kWh a month.

“We are pleased to announce that despite the recent figures released on inflation and a slight depreciation of the peso, Meralco customers can find some relief in the decrease in power rates this month, as this goes against the current trend that we see with other basic goods and commodities,” Meralco spokesperson and head of Public Information Office Joe Zaldarriaga said.

Inflation clocked in at 6.4 percent in August this year, the fastest in over nine years since it came in at 6.6 percent in March 2009.

Meralco hiked rates by P0.0265 per kWh to P10.2190 last month from P10.1925 in July.

The substantial decrease in WESM charges was enough to offset a 61-centavo per kWh increase in Power Supply Agreements and a 32-centavo per kWh increase in charges from Independent Power Producers. Both items increased because of a weaker peso and higher fuel prices.

Transmission charge of residential customers dropped P.0292 per kWh while taxes and other charges declined by P.0394 per kWh.

However, Meralco Utility Economics head Larry Fernandez warned customers that rates in October may go up because of lower plant capacity.

The Sual and Pagbilao power plants, which supply 1,000 megawatts of power, are undergoing maintenance since September 1.

Meralco operates and maintains electric distribution systems in the cities and municipalities of Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, and Rizal, and certain cities, municipalities, and barangays in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, and Quezon. —With Tina Panganiban Perez and Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News