Bayan Muna party-list second nominee and former House deputy minority leader Carlos Zarate said that Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco’s) power rate hike this month added burden to already struggling Filipino households.
In a statement on Tuesday, April 15, Zarate described Meralco’s latest decision for this month as “unjustifiable
Meralco recently announced a 72-centavo per kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase in electricity rates for April, driven by a notable rise in generation costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
This adjustment means that a typical household consuming 200 kWh may see their monthly bill go up by around P144. Those using 300 kWh could face an increase of P216, while customers consuming 400 kWh and 500 kWh may experience hikes of P288 and P360, respectively.
“This is yet another heavy cross for consumers to bear,” Zarate said in a statement. “Lalo pa sa panahon ng tag-init kung kailan mas mataas ang konsumo ng kuryente at mas hirap ang mga manggagawa’t maralita.”
Zarate also criticized Meralco for its frequent reliance on WESM, the platform where electricity is traded in real-time based on supply and demand. He argued that such a mechanism should not be treated as a primary source of electricity procurement.
“The use of WESM should be a last resort, not a regular source,” Zarate said. “Its role must be minimized to a maximum of 5% of the power mix. Otherwise, we are exposing consumers to the greed of energy traders and market manipulators.”
According to Meralco’s latest data, 23% of its power supply during the recent period was sourced from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Independent Power Producers contributed 33%, while 44% came from Power Supply Agreements.
Meralco also earlier pointed to the yellow alert raised over the Luzon grid on March 5, which led to the activation of the secondary price cap at 6.39%. This reflected consistently high prices in the spot market during that time. (TCSP)
