The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on Thursday said the cost of electricity at its franchise area will likely fall in August due to lower prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
“While we have yet to receive all the billings from our suppliers, indications point to lower generation charges this month. This is mainly due to lower WESM prices brought about by better supply conditions. In the July supply month, we saw the average peak demand decrease by 690 megawatts from the previous month,” said Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, in a message to reporters.
Despite the anticipated drop in overall electricity rates, Zaldarriaga said Meralco “continues to remind the public to practice energy conservation and have better management over their power consumption and electricity bills.”
In July, Meralco implemented a P2.1496 per kilowatt hour (kWh) increase due higher generation charges as power costs normalized after the Energy Regulatory Commission ordered a staggered collection of charges in May in four equal monthly installments until September this year.
The July adjustment amounted to an increase of P430 in the bill of a residential customer consuming 200 kWh a month and brought the overall power rate to P11.6012 per kWh from the previous P9.4516 per kWh.
