Weaker peso led to higher October power generation rates

Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Monday announced an increase of P0.2331 per kilowatt-hour for October 2025 on the back of higher generation charges due to the peso depreciation.

This brings the overall rate for a typical household to P13.3182 per kWh this month from P13.0851 per kWh.

Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said residential customers consuming an average of 200 kWh would see an additional P47 in their monthly electricity bill.

Zaldarriaga said the October generation charge went up by P0.1903 per kW, largely due to the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar. The peso depreciated to 58.13 against the greenback from 57.13 previously.

Charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSAs) increased by P0.3622 and P0.3567 per kWh, respectively. This was primarily due to the depreciation of the local currency against the greenback, which affected 99 percent and 48 percent of their respective costs.

The increase was tempered by lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the trading floor of electricity, which went down by P2.0688 per kWh due to a decrease of about 1,000 megawatts in Luzon’s peak demand.

IPPs, PSAs and WESM accounted for 21 percent, 74 percent and 5 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

Transmission, taxes and other charges also registered a total increase of P0.0428 per kWh.

Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively. Taxes, universal charges and the Feed-in Tariff Allowance are all remitted to the government.

Meralco said its distribution charge has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer began in August 2022.

Customers also continue to benefit from the ongoing implementation of the distribution-related true-up adjustment, equivalent to a reduction of P0.2024 per kWh for residential customers.

Meanwhile, Meralco assured its customers that it continuously safeguards its distribution facilities from potential hazards to ensure the safety of both its crews and customers amid the recent earthquakes affecting parts of the country.

Among the safety measures the power distributor implements are replacing wooden poles with taller and more durable concrete or steel ones, relocating facilities away from high-risk areas such as railroad tracks and waterways and conducting regular tree trimming and wire clearing operations to manage foreign attachments on power lines.

The company also implements re-insulation and conductor shielding of power lines, enhances lightning protection systems, and installs smart devices to swiftly identify and isolate service concerns.

Meralco said it also stands ready to de-energize power if the situation warrants it to protect the public.