Meralco customers face potentially higher electricity bills in February as the company foresees an increase in generation charges. In a statement released on Monday, Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, said that the weak peso is largely responsible for the expected hike. The local currency’s depreciated state increases the cost of Meralco’s suppliers, most of which are dollar-denominated costs.
In addition to this, consumers could see an increase in transmission charges. This is attributed to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)-mandated recovery of 70 percent of reserve market settlement fees incurred in March 2024, which will be collected starting this month.
However, Zaldarriaga said the rate increase may be partially offset by a one-time refund of regulatory reset costs ordered by the ERC, which took effect this month. This adjustment is expected to reduce rates by around 23 centavos per kilowatt hour (kWh) for Meralco customers.
Meralco has yet to confirm the official February 2025 rate adjustment, but the announcement is expected later this week.
In January, Meralco implemented a rate cut of P0.2189 per kWh, largely due to lower generation costs. This drop equated to approximately P44 in savings for residential customers with a monthly consumption of 200 kWh, bringing the overall power rate down from P11.9617 per kWh to P11.7428 per kWh.
On a national scale, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) reported a 14.3 percent decrease in the average price of electricity in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in January, falling to P2.96 per kWh from P3.45 per kWh in December 2024. The decline is attributed to lower power demand, even though the power supply remained nearly unchanged.
Despite the positive national trend, consumers should brace for a likely rate hike due to the combination of currency fluctuations and transmission charges. These commercial dynamics will undoubtedly impact household budgets, especially as Meralco’s February adjustment moves forward.
