Consumers to find Dec. electricity rate down to year's lowest level, says Meralco

Customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will find their electricity bills this month lower by P0.19 per kilowatt hour (kWh) as the generation charge fell to its lowest level for the year, the company said Tuesday.

 

On its official Twitter account, Meralco said households consuming 200 kWh per month will see a P38.03 reduction in their bills and those consuming 300 kWh per month will have P57.03 shaved off their bills.

Katumbas ito ng bawas na PhP 38 para sa mga kumokonsumo ng 200 kWh. pic.twitter.com/fmeeslkszT

— MERALCO (@meralco) December 9, 2014

 

Apart from a lower generation charge, taxes and other charges for the month are also lesser this month, Meralco said.

 

GOOD NEWS: Bumaba ng P0.19/kwh ang electricity rate ngayong Disyembre. pic.twitter.com/DNTWZIYt5f

— MERALCO (@meralco) December 9, 2014

 

In an e-mailed statement, Meralco noted December is the second month in the quarter when power rates have gone down, since P0.60 per kWh was registered last October.

 

There was a P0.17 per kWh downward adjustment to P4.94 per kWh in the generation charge on the heels of lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

 

WESM rates fell as the supply situation in Luzon improved with power plants operating at normal levels in November and the resumption of the Sual 647-megawatt Unit 1 after a month-long maintenance shutdown in October. 

 

WESM charges decreased as the rate adjustments from prior months were completed in October that included additional Must-Run Unit (MRU) compensation for the Malaya power plant in Rizal province and the secondary cap to additional compensation for the supply months of May and June 2014.

 

Meralco said the WESM charges offset the P0.10 per kWh and P0.03 per kWh increases in the average rates of the Independent Power Producers and power plants covered by Power Supply Agreements with the power distributor.

 

There were also the P0.014 decrease in taxes and a P0.023 cumulative decrease in system loss charge and subsidies.

 

The transmission charge, on the other hand, increased by P0.017 per kWh pm higher ancillary service charges. – Danessa O. Rivera/VS, GMA News