Power rates up by May due to coal price hike –DOE

On top of the successive fuel price hikes, consumers may also brace for an electricity rate hike in May due to the increase in coal prices, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday.

“Dahil sa pagtaas ng presyo ng coal, tumataas po ang presyo ng ating kuryente ngayon at ito’y mararamdaman ng ating mga mamamayan, ng ating mga consumers, by May,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said during President Rodrigo Duterte's Talk to the People aired Wednesday morning.

(Since there is an increase in the prices of coal, the price of electricity is also rising and the public and consumers will feel this by May.)

Despite this, Cusi assured the public that the country has enough supply of coal for a month.

“Dito naman sa supply ng coal sa ating bansa, supisyente po. 30 days na inbentaryo po ang mine-maintain natin. Ang gen cost naman po, nakikiusap na kung pupuwede ay luwagan natin ‘yung 30 days inventory dahil nagdo-doble ang presyo ng coal at nangangailangan sila ng malaking kapital,” he said.

(The supply of coal in our country is sufficient. We have 30 days of inventory to maintain. As for the gen cost, they are asking if we could relax the 30-day inventory because the price of coal is doubling and they need a lot of capital.)

Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Monday also said its customers may expect higher monthly bill in May which will come with the repricing of the Malampaya price in line with higher global crude prices.

Meralco already increased its household rates by 6.25 centavos per kilowatt-hour in March, translating to an increase of around P13 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kilowatt-hours.

For its part, the Energy Regulatory Commission on Sunday urged the government to focus on developing new sources of energy to help reduce household electricity rates in the country. —KBK, GMA News