After three consecutive months of increases, power rates in Metro Manila will go down this month, according to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The P0.7961 per kilowatt hour (kWh) drop this December brings overall power rates of Meralco to P11.2584 from P12.0545 per kWh in November. This is equivalent to a decrease of around P159 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh monthly.
Meralco attributed the decline to the P0.6606 per kWh drop in generation charge due to lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
WESM charges decreased by P2.7624 per kWh with the improved supply situation in the Luzon grid as demand went down by around 421 megawatts (MW) and average plant capacity on outage decreased by about 679 MW.
Charges from IPPs went down by P0.4731 per kWh due to reduced use of more expensive liquid fuel and lower international coal prices as well as the appreciation of the peso since around 97 percent of IPP costs are dollar denominated.
A slight upward adjustment of P0.0805 per kWh in charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSA) were recorded due to lower average PSA dispatch.
Meralco said transmission charge, taxes, and other charges also registered a net reduction of P0.1355 per kWh while the collection of the feed-in tariff allowance remains suspended as directed by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Meralco earns from distribution, supply and metering charges pegged at P0.0360 per kWh, unchanged since August 2022.
PSAs accounted for 48 percent of Meralco’s total power requirements for the month, 32 percent from IPPs and 20 percent from WESM. Jed Macapagal
