Meralco sees P1 per kWh hike from Malampaya shutdown

The maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas-to-power facility early next year will result in a P1 per kilowatt-hour increase in electricity bills, the Department of Energy said Thursday.

Citing the Manila Electric Co.'s (Meralco) price simulation estimates, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said consumers will likely experience a P1 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) hike in the generation cost.

If it materializes, the rate increase will be billed in March 2017, Cusi said.

In its price simulation, Meralco has factored in the cost of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and the likelihood that other power plants might breakdown during the Malampaya shutdown.

Another factor is the shift to liquid fuel, such as diesel, which is more expensive than the natural gas produced by Malampaya.

“There will be an increase, but what we will do is to minimize the increase to soften the burden on our consuming public,” Cusi said.

The Malampaya natural gas field is scheduled for a maintenance shutdown on January 28 to February 16, 2017.

To avert a supply shortfall and cushion the impact of possible power rate increases, the DOE is now in talks with industry stakeholders.

The Malampaya shutdown is expected to result in a supply deficit of about 700 megawatts.

“My directive was clear: the Malampaya maintenance activities should pose no substantial impact to the supply of electricity by using all available resources and remedies, because power is a basic necessity of our countrymen,” Cusi said. — Ted Cordero/VS, GMA News