After two months of hikes, power rates in Metro Manila ease in July as a result of lower generation charges for the period, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said.
The P0.7213 per kilowatt hour (kWh) reduction in the July billing brings the overall Meralco power rate to only P11.1899 per kilowatt-hour from last month’s P11.9112 per kWh.
This also effectively lowers to P144 the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh a month.
Meralco said the lower generation charge triggered the rate reduction as this eased by P0.6436 per kWh to P6.6066 per kWh this July from P7.2502 per kWh in June.
Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) went downP2.6597 per kWh as demand fell amid the onset the rainy season and as charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) and independent power producers also went down by P0.3915 and P0.4658 per kWh, respectively, mainly due to lower coal prices.
Also contributing to the reduction was the adjustment in the exchange rate of the peso relative to the US dollar whose appreciation affected 20 percent of PSA and 97 percent of IPP costs.
Transmission and other charges including taxes and subsidies also registered a net reduction of P0.0777 per kWh as the collection of feed-in-tariff allowance remains suspended until August.
Meralco reiterated it only earns from the distribution, supply and metering charges which fell by P0.0360 per kWh in August 2022 and has not moved since.
The company said the power requirement for the month was sourced 15 percent from WESM, 37 percent from the IPPs and 48 percent from PSAs.
