Metro Manila residents face another increase in their electricity bills this December as power rates climb for the second straight month. The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Monday that it charges P0.1048 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more, bringing the rate to P11.9617 per kWh from November’s P11.8569 per kWh.
For residential customers consuming 200 kWh a month, the adjustment translates into an additional P21 in their monthly bill.
Meralco said the increase is driven by the P0.1839 per kWh surge in the generation charge attributed to higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and power supply agreements (PSAs). The P0.2531 per kWh increase in WESM charges, is attributed to tighter power supply conditions in the Luzon grid where the average capacity outage rose by around 396 megawatts.
Additionally, PSA charges climbed by P0.1050 per kWh resulting from the depreciation of the Philippine peso, which affects about 51 percent of PSA costs, as well as lower average dispatches from PSA plants.
This increase was partially offset by the P0.0410 per kWh reduction in charges by independent power producers (IPPs) following the return to normal operations of several power plants.
The transmission charge also decreased by P0.0940 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges from the reserve market even as taxes and other charges rose by P0.0149 per kWh.
Meralco reiterated that its earnings are derived solely from distribution, supply, and metering charges, which have remained unchanged since August 2022. In December, power supply requirements will be sourced 31.4 percent from WESM, 40.2 percent from IPPs, and 28.3 percent from PSAs.
