Power bills up this month due to higher generation charge

A lineman inspects electric meters in Metro Manila (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Power consumers may notice a slight increase in their electricity bills this month after generation charges pulled up distributor Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) rates by P0.0846 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall electricity rate of a typical household to P11.3430 per kWh, the company said on Wednesday.

This is equivalent to an increase of P17 in a customer’s total bill, consuming 200 kWh a month.

According to Meralco, the generation charge, or the cost of power purchased from suppliers that accounts for more than 50 percent of the total bill, went up by P0.1136 per kWh to P6.6468 per kWh due to higher charges from the spot market.

Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges rose by P0.5611 per kWh as more power plants in the Luzon grid went on scheduled maintenance shutdowns.

“We cannot have full control [over] what the generation cost will be. [It is] based on the prices that will be sold to us,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco’s first vice president and head of corporate communications.

Charges from independent power producers (IPPs) also increased by P0.1384 per kWh because of higher fuel costs from imported liquefied natural gas, Meralco said.

The power purchased from WESM and IPPs accounted for 20.5 percent and 36.5 percent of Meralco’s total energy requirement in the previous month.

On the other hand, taxes, transmission and additional charges had a total net reduction of P0.0290 per kWh.

Managing consumption

Zaldarriaga advised Meralco customers to manage their consumption, especially during the summer months, with the El Niño weather phenomenon expected to cut output from the country’s hydroelectric power plants.

Power demand usually increases from March until July, as consumers typically rely on air conditioners to cool off.

Zaldarriaga clarified, however, that they have yet to predict whether power rates would soar in the coming months.

Earlier, the Department of Energy projected that there would be no power interruptions this year despite the prolonged dry spell.

Late last year, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla reported that several solar power plants would come online this year to help augment supply. These would have a total capacity of around 1,000 megawatts, he said.

In December, lower generation charges cut Meralco rates by P0.7961 per kWh.