The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said the cost of electricity in its franchise area will likely adjust lower in the April billing period ahead of an official announcement.
Meralco cited lower transmission and generation charges as main reasons for the reduction in electricity bills.
“For generation, we see the cost of natural gas suppliers decrease, partly due to lower liquefied natural gas prices. Transmission charges, on the other hand, may be lower following the Energy Regulatory Commission’s order suspending the settlement in the reserve market that drove the significant increase in ancillary service charges in the March electricity rates,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, in a statement over the weekend.
Last month, Meralco implemented a P0.0229 per kilowatt hour (kWh) increase in rates driven mainly by the P0.3976 per kWh increase in the transmission charge for residential customers due to higher ancillary service charges, which more than tripled to 52 percent of total transmission cost.
The adjustment translate to an increase of less than P5 for a residential customer consuming 200 kWh monthly and brought the overall power charge to P11.9397 per kWh from the previous P11.9168 per kWh.
