Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest power distributor by sales, announced on Tuesday a significant reduction in electricity rates for May, lowering the overall rate to P2.2628 per kiloWatt-hour from P13.0127 in April.
The decrease translates to approximately P150 in savings for a typical household consuming 200 kWh.
The rate cut is primarily driven by lower generation and transmission charges. The generation charge dropped by P0.3144 per kWh, largely due to a P1.1424 per kWh decrease in costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market due to improved supply conditions in the Luzon grid. Increased plant availability more than offset higher peak demand during the period.
Independent Power Producers also contributed to the reduction, with a P0.9555 per kWh decrease in charges due to higher dispatch levels and a stronger peso. Since the majority of IPP costs are dollar-denominated, currency appreciation helped lower the overall rate.
Transmission charges declined by P0.2970 per kWh, as ancillary service costs dropped and prior adjustments related to reserve market transactions were completed. Other charges, including taxes, also saw a net decrease of P0.1385 per kWh.
Meralco’s distribution charge has remained unchanged since August 2022. The company also continues to implement a distribution-related true-up adjustment, providing an additional P0.2024 per kWh reduction for residential customers.
With this latest adjustment, Meralco emphasized the importance of energy efficiency and responsible electricity use, while reaffirming its commitment to delivering stable and cost-effective power to consumers.
