Electricity rates down in August — Meralco

The residential rate for a typical household will go down by around P0.11 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) this August, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said on Monday.

"This translates to a reduction of around P22 in the electricity bill of a household with monthly consumption of 200 kWh," the power distribution company said.

The lower electricity rates this month was made possible by the decline in the generation charge, which more than offset a higher transmission charge, according to Meralco.

Year-on-year, this month’s overall rate is lower by P0.62 per kWh compared with P9.12 per kWh in August 2015.

The generation charge at P3.86 per kWh is P0.20 per kWh lower than in July, and is also P0.69 per kWh lower compared with P4.55 per kWh in August 2015’s.

"This month’s generation charge is the second lowest since October 2004," Meralco said.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) decreased by P3.48 per kWh due to lower spot prices.

"There was only one instance of yellow alert for the July supply month (July 19) vis-à-vis five in June (June 13, 14, 17, 21, and 22).

"There was also no instance of red alert for both months. The share of WESM to Meralco’s total power requirements for the July supply month went up to 9.5 percent, from 7.8 percent the previous month," Meralco said.
 
But cost of power from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) increased by P0.16 per kWh.

"This was because of the lower dispatch of the San Lorenzo and Sta. Rita power plants," the company said. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS, GMA News