Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers will see higher April bills increase due to increased generation and transmission charges.
In an advisory on Friday, April 11, Manny Pangilinan-led power distribution giant announced a P0.7226 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase in its power rates.
The latest increase pushed the overall rate to P13.0127 per kWh from P12.2901 per kWh in March.
For those households using 200 kWh, the rate hike may add around P144 to their monthly bill.
Those who are using electricity worth 300 kWh will pay ₱216 more, 400 kWh users ₱288 more, and 500 kWh consumers will face a ₱360 hike in their April bills.
Meralco attributed the rate hike to rising costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which surged by P3.4205/kWh in March due to tighter supply conditions in Luzon, pushing peak demand to 1,123 MW.
The utility also cited the year’s first yellow alert on March 5 and a 6.39 percent application of the secondary price cap.
Additionally, Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) increased by P0.2811/kWh after the 400 MW contract with Limay Power, Inc. ended.
The transmission charge also rose by P0.0809/kWh due to higher ancillary service fees from the reserve market that the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) handled.
Other charges, including taxes, also went up by P0.1163/kWh. These pass-through costs cover payments to power suppliers and grid operators, while taxes such as universal charges and the Feed-in-Tariff allowance go to the government.
Meanwhile, the rate true-up adjustment helped cushion the rate hike by P0.2024/kWh, as Meralco began refunding P19.9 billion to customers under an ERC directive. (TCSP)
