Consumers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) are facing higher power generation charges this month due to the depreciation of the peso, which could be offset by lower prices in the electricity spot market, the utility said.
“While we are still waiting for some billings from our suppliers to finalize the October electricity rate, indications point to a possible increase in the generation charge this month,” Meralco vice president Joe Zaldarriaga said.
“This is due to the depreciation of the peso which affects costs of our suppliers that are mostly dollar-denominated,” he said.
Meralco is hoping this would be tempered by lower charges at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) as reported by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP). IEMOP reported that average spot market prices in Luzon declined by P1.19 per kilowatt-hour to P2.57 per kWh in September from P3.76 per kWh in August due to higher power supply margins.
Zaldarriaga said the company would announce the overall rate adjustment once all billings have been received and verified.
Meanwhile, Meralco reported a 0.4-percent decline in its consolidated energy sales volume in the first nine months to 40,719 gigawatt-hours from 40,872 GWh in the same period last year.
“Depressed residential consumption remains to be the biggest contributor to the decline, amplified by the erratic weather observed in third quarter with the transition of El Nino to La Nina,” Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said.
“Impact to commercial sales is less pronounced, but still affected by the reeling impact of lower tourism and real estate occupancy,” said Geluz.
He said that industrial sales are seen posting a modest increase supported by steady demand in cement and steel.
Meralco revised in July its 2025 sales volume growth forecast to a range of 1 percent to 2 percent from an earlier projection of 4 percent to 4.5 percent, following a less than 1-percent sales increase in the first half of the year.
Meralco reported consolidated distribution energy sales of 27,091 gigawatt-hours (GWh) at the end of the first semester, a slight rise from 26,954 GWh in the same period last year.
Geluz attributed the downgrade to industry, weather and macroeconomic factors, including elevated vacancies in commercial real estate, a lingering effect of the exit of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), which continues to suppress demand in office and condominium spaces.
Cooler and wetter weather this year also softened consumption, especially compared to last year’s El Niño-driven spike, he said.
“Notwithstanding, we continue our diligent efforts to energize customers, with an estimate to end the year at 8.2 million customers, up by 170,000 from last year,” Geluz said.
“We are optimistic that these new customers will contribute to the volume rebound next year once weather and macroeconomic factors normalize,” he said.
