The electricity bills of Meralco customers are expected to rise again this November due to higher pass-through charges, the company said ahead of its official rate announcement.
Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said the increase is likely driven by the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval of a higher feed-in-tariff allowance (FIT-All), which helps fund government-backed renewable energy projects. The FIT-All charge rose to P0.2073 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from P0.1189 per kWh starting this month.
Zaldarriaga said that higher prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and reserve market have also pushed up generation costs. Meanwhile, the continued depreciation of the local currency the peso is expected to raise dollar-denominated costs from independent power producers and power supply agreements.
Meralco will announce the exact rate adjustment Monday, November 10.
Last month, the company implemented a P0.2331 per kWh rate increase, mainly due to the weaker peso, which added about P47 to the monthly bill of a household consuming 200 kWh. That adjustment brought overall rates to P13.3182 per kWh.
Meralco distributes power across Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including parts of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, and Pampanga.
