Consumers of Manila Electric Co. will experience lower rates this month with the rate for a typical household dropping P0.0781 per kilowatt-hour to P8.26 per kWh, the lowest since January 2010.
The lower rates, mainly due to the due to the decline in the generation charge, translates into a reduction of around P16 in the electricity bill of a household with a monthly consumption of 200 kWh.
This is also the fourth straight month of reduction in the overall residential rate.
Meralco said generation charges this month decreased P0.0502 per kWh to P3.8436 per kWh from last month’s P3.8938 per kWh.
“The decrease resulted mainly from lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. This offsets increases in IPP (independent power producer) and PSA (power supply agreement) costs brought about by higher coal and natural gas prices and low dispatch,” Meralco said.
Overall charges from the WESM decreased P0.2756 per kWh. The share of WESM purchases to Meralco’s total requirements rose from 16.1 percent to 20.1 percent.
Meralco said the cost of power purchased from plants under the PSAs increased P0.0164 per kWh primarily due to higher fuel costs. Meralco obtains 42.5 percent of its power requirements from its PSAs.
Coal prices in the region continued to rise to $72.70 per metric ton in September from $67.41 per MT in August.
Cost of power from the independent power producers also increased P0.0549 per kWh, mainly due to the scheduled outage and lower dispatch of the San Lorenzo natural gas plant, and the higher cost of natural gas following a quarterly repricing. Meralco obtains 37.3 percent of its requirements from the IPPs.
Meralco said the transmission charge dropped P0.0177 per kWh, mainly due to the reduction in the ancillary charge differential that transmission operator National Grid Corp. of the Philippines began to collect from its Luzon customers in June.
Taxes and other charges fell by a combined amount of around P0.0102 per kWh.
Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 16 months, after they registered reductions in July 2015.
Meralco said the generation and transmission charges are pass-through costs. Payment for the generation charge goes to power suppliers, while that of the transmission charge is remitted to National Grid.
Meralco and the Energy Department, meanwhile, energized 20,101 households in the areas of Gaya-Gaya, San Jose del Monte and other municipalities in Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite and some parts of Rizal, Happy Land Aroma, the Baseco Compound, Isla Puting Bato and Parola Area in Tondo, Manila.