CONSUMERS face higher power and water rates this month following an announcement from Manila Electric Co. and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System on Friday.
Meralco said it expects a “significant increase” in electricity rates because more power plants are going offline amid the increasing demand for power.
MWSS said the water rates will increase starting April 22 as a result of the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar.
Meralco’s power rates in April will include the P0.22 per-kilowatthour staggered increase, which forms part of its P0.66 per-kilowatthour approved fuel cost recovery following the Malampaya gas maintenance shutdown.
Meralco senior vice president Lawrence Fernandez said the expected increase will be “well below one peso” per kilowatthour. A P0.50 to P1 per kilowatthour increase translates into an increase of P100 to P200 for Meralco customers.
“We also expect certain suppliers to register low dispatch levels as they experienced shutdowns in March,” Fernandez said.
Meralco gets its power from independent power producers, power supply agreements and WESM, the spot market for electricity.
“In all, there are strong pressures for an increase in the generation charge this April. We will formally announce on Monday,” Fernandez said.
Meralco announced a P0.66 per kilowatthour rate increase in March, bringing the overall rate to P9.67 per kilowatt hour from P9 in February.
The company attributed the higher rates to the upward movement in the generation charge, which was caused mainly by the 20-day Malampaya shutdown from Jan. 28 to Feb. 16 this year.
The shutdown affected the natural gas supply to the Ilijan, Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo plants that supply a total of 2,565 megawatts to Meralco’s franchise area.
The power plants had to switch from natural gas to the more expensive diesel fuel.
