Consumers can expect a double whammy of higher power rates and pump prices soon.
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) warned that higher rates would likely continue until next month due to higher temperatures that would drive demand.
Residential customers consuming 200 kWh will see an increase of around P35 in their total electricity bill, although higher consumption translates to a higher increase, the power retailer said in a statement.
Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said they expect higher rates and higher consumption during the dry months.
Meanwhile, oil prices may go up next week, ending three consecutive weeks of price cuts, based on the first three days of world oil trading movement.
According to an industry source, oil prices may go up by P1.15 per liter for diesel, P1.13 per liter for kerosene, and P0.30 per liter for gasoline.
Meralco announced on Tuesday that consumers in its franchise area will experience higher rates of P0.1761 per kWh in May, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.4929 per kWh from the previous month’s P11.3168 per kWh.
“That will taper off around July. From March to June, we need to expect an increase both in terms of consumption and price,” Zaldarriaga said.
He said consumption goes up between 10 and 15 percent in March to June due to higher temperatures, which drive the use of air conditioners.
“Temperature levels play a very big part in terms of overall demand, between 10 to 40 percent,” Zaldarraiga said.
Meralco is also set to complete this month the implementation of the last distribution-related refund, equivalent to P0.8656 per kWh for residential customers.
The impact of this will be felt in the customers’ June billing period.
Meralco also expects temperatures to continue to be elevated in the coming months due to the El Nino weather phenomenon, which could impact on demand and supply.
Meanwhile, Meralco’s generation charge went up to P7.6697 this month from P7.3295 per kWh in April due to higher Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and power supply agreement costs.
This already includes the collection of the final installment of deferred charges, equivalent to around P0.20 per kWh.
Meralco had coordinated with its suppliers and the Energy Regulatory Commission to stagger the collection of around P1.1 billion in generation costs in the March billing to cushion the impact of the rate increase to its customers.
Meralco said WESM charges increased by P1.7367 per kWh due to higher peak demand as the Luzon grid registered 12,235 MW on April 19, up by 732 MW higher than the peak recorded in March.
Reuters reported that oil prices went up early this week after the US announced plans to refill its emergency oil reserves amid anticipated high demand.
Domestic pump prices are adjusted every Tuesday to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market the previous week.
On May 9, the oil companies cut gas prices by P2.20 a liter, diesel by P2.70 and kerosene by P2.55.
These resulted in a year-to-date net decrease for diesel at P7.05 per liter and kerosene at P7.50 per liter. Gasoline, on the other hand, has a net increase of P3.85 per liter.
