Power retailer Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced Tuesday an increase of P0.2834 per kilowatt hour in the electricity rate this February, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P12.0262 per kWh from the previous month’s P11.7428 per kWh.
Meralco said higher generation charges drove the overall rate increase with residential customers with an average consumption of 200 kWh posting an P57 increase this month.
Meralco’s generation charge went up by P0.3845 per kWh due to higher costs from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).
IPP charges went up by P0.8355 per kWh due to lower average plant dispatch, weaker Peso, and higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal fees of First Gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo.
Quezon Power went on scheduled maintenance outage in January in accordance with the Grid Operating and Maintenance Program approved by the Department of Energy.
Meanwhile, the peso depreciation against the dollar affected 97 percent of IPP costs that were dollar denominated.
The depreciation of the peso, which affected 61 percent of PSA costs, also pushed up PSA charges by P0.0837 per kWh.
The lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the electricity spot market, tempered the increase in Meralco’s IPP and PSA charges by P0.3005 per kWh.
Meralco said the lower average and peak demand in the Luzon grid by 585 MW and 803 MW, respectively, also offset the impact of the 612 MW increase in average capacity on outage.
IPPs, PSAs, and WESM accounted for 29 percent, 43 percent, and 28 percent respectively of Meralco’s total energy requirement in January.
On the other hand, transmission charge for residential customers slightly decreased by P0.0013 per kWh.
Lower ancillary service charges for January supply mitigated the impact of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) first of three-monthly collection of adjustments for February and March 2024 reserve market transactions for Luzon, following an Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) order.
Taxes and other pass-through charges registered a net increase of P0.1289 per kWh, including the impact of higher ERC-approved Universal Charge-Missionary Electrification rates by P0.0171 per kWh.
This month’s rates also reflected a one-time downward rate adjustment of P0.2264 per kWh and another downward adjustment of P0.0023 per kWh, both related to regulatory reset fees adjustments, also ordered by the ERC.
Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government.
Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer in August 2022. Meanwhile, Meralco reminded the public to practice energy efficiency ahead of the dry season.
“We reiterate our call to all our customers to continue practicing energy efficiency as a way of life, especially with the upcoming summer months,” Meralco vice president and corporate communications head Joe Zaldarriaga said.