Meralco customers to pay P0.13/kWh more in Aug.
MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) announced yesterday that a P0.1338 per kilowatt-hour ( kWh) increase will be reflected in the August bills of household consumers, or an addition of about P27 for those using 200 kW per month.
In a statement, the listed firm said the uptick, which brings the overall rate for the month at P8.3849/ kWh from July’s P8.2511/ kWh, reflects the last installment of the refund of over- recovery on pass- through charges from January 2014 to December 2016 totaling around P6.9 billion.
The Energy Regulatory Commission approved last May Meralco’s petition for refund with prayer for provisional authority for implementation in the three months ending August.
Meralco customers enjoyed a P1.43/kWh decline in electricity charges last June from the refund.
Meanwhile, overall generation charge increased this month by P0.0378/ kWh to P3.9763/ kWh from P3.9385/kWh last month.
For other electricity bill components, transmission charge for residential customers slightly increased by P0.0383/kWh, while taxes and other charges also climbed by a combined P0.0577/ kWh.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. —