Power rates in Metro Manila will go up for the second consecutive month with the completion of distribution-related refunds, according to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
The P0.4183 per kilowatt hour (kWh) adjustment this June brings the overall rate to P11.9112 from last month’s P11.4929 per kWh.
It is also equivalent to an increase of P84 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh monthly.
Meralco said the completion of the last distribution-related refund in May equivalent to P0.8656 per kWh for residential customers caused the upward impact in June bills.
From March 2021 until May 2023, Meralco implemented four distribution rate true-up adjustments totaling P48.3 billion, which translates to a P1.8009 per kWh refund for residential customers.
“These refunds benefitted Meralco’s customers over the past two years as these helped temper increases in electricity bills at a time of financial distress and uncertainty for many,” said Jose Ronald Valles, Meralco head of regulatory management office, in a statement.
The company said if not for the drop in the generation charge, the increase in overall power rates could have been higher.
Meralco said generation charge went down from P7.6697 per kWh in May to P7.2502 per kWh this June due to lower cost from power supply agreements (PSAs) and from independent power producers (IPPs).
This month’s generation charge also no longer included recovery of deferred generation cost in the March bills.
Meralco said PSAs and IPP charges decreased due to improved plant dispatch and lower coal prices that mitigated the increase in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges due to tight supply conditions in Luzon.
Meralco transmission and other charges in June registered a net decrease of P0.0278 per kWh while collection of feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) remains suspended until the August in accordance with a resolution from the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Meralco reiterated it only earns from the distribution, supply and metering charges which went down P0.0360 per kWh in August last year and has not moved since.
The company said of the power required for the period, 12 percent came from WESM, 38 percent from IPPs and 50 percent from PSAs.
