March marks 2nd straight month of rate hike
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said power rates in its franchise areas will rise this month by P0.2639 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
The company said in a briefing on Tuesday overall power rates this month will go up to P12.2901 from last month’s P12.0262 per kWh. This is equivalent to a P53- increase in the total bill of residential customers who are each consuming 200 kWh monthly.
Meralco attributed the second straight month of rate increase to higher transmission charges, feed-in-tariff allowance charges, and taxes, among others.
Lawrence Fernandez, Meralco vice president and head of the utility economics department, said power demand for this month is only expected to be “moderate,” explaining that electricity usage is not expected to peak until next month.
If not for lower generation charges, the increase in overall power rates this month could have been higher, Meralco added.
The company said this month’s generation charge dropped by P0.1686 per kWh to P7.0517 from February’s P7.2203 due to lower costs imposed by supply sources.
Charges from independent power producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSAs) registered decreases of P1.0143 and P0.2934 per kWh, respectively, due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, which affected about 98 percent of IPP cost and 61 percent of PSA cost that is dollar-denominated.
Meanwhile, Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges also went down by P0.2247 per kWh due to the improved supply situation in Luzon.
Meralco reiterated that it only earns from distribution, supply, and metering charges at P1.3522 per kWh, which last moved in August 2022.
The company said that total power requirements for the month were 22 percent from WESM, 31 percent from IPPs, and 47 percent from PSAs.
Meralco appealed to its customers to continue practicing energy efficiency for better management of their electricity consumption.
“We remind our customers to observe electrical safety especially with the dry season fast approaching since many household fires usually start from faulty wiring, overloaded outlets, or improper use of appliances,” Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications said in a press statement.
He said that “based on the latest data, electricity demand increases by 20 percent to 33 percent during the dry season due to increased usage of cooling appliances such as air conditioners.”
Meralco warned against overloading of electrical outlets and advised its customers to inspect cords and wires for possible damage, unplug appliances when not in use to avoid phantom load, and prevent the exposure of devices to water and extreme heat.
Meralco urged the public to practice regular cleaning of air conditioner filters, avoiding overfilling of refrigerators, and using LED bulbs for cost-saving lighting.
