Power rates in Metro Manila will increase this month after last month’s reduction, according to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The P0.4621 per kilowatt hour (kWh) increase this May brings overall power rates of Meralco to P11.4139 from last month’s P10.9518 per kWh.
The adjustment is equivalent to an additional P92 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh monthly.
Meralco said the overall rate increase was primarily due to higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and power supply agreements (PSA).
The company said charges from WESM went up by P1.7913 per kWh due to the tight supply condition in the Luzon grid in April as demand went up by 2,401 megawatts (MW).
Charges from PSAs increased by P0.2871 per kWh due to lower excess energy deliveries and the depreciation of the peso which affected some PSA costs that were dollar-denominated.
Meralco said the P0.6942 per kWh reduction in charges from independent power producers (IPPs) due to higher average dispatch and lower fuel prices tempered a possible higher increase in the generation charge.
Meanwhile, transmission charge, taxes and other charges also registered a net increase of P0.0166 per kWh.
Meralco said of the total power requirements for the month, 30 percent was from WESM, 34 percent from IPPs and 36 percent from PSAs.
