Oct. marks 4th month of Meralco rate hike

CUSTOMERS of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see a P0.0345 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) increase in overall tariff in October, marking the fourth straight month of increase.

“The October rate increase is mainly due to the P0.1777/kWh increase in generation charge, which was offset by the reduction in other charges,” the company said on Monday.

The increase brings the overall rate to P9.2836/ kWh from P9.2491/kWh in September.

Consumers using 200 kWh in a month — who make up the biggest residential segment — will see an increase of P6.91 in their bills. Those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh can expect increases of P10.35, P13.80 and P17.25, respectively.

Meralco said the rate hike was due largely to the rise in generate charge to P4.7155/ kWh in October from P4.5378/kWh last month. This was after completion in August of the three-month refund for excess payments of passthrough charges from January 2014 to December 2016, totaling P6.9 billion.

The utility said the cost of electricity from power supply agreements ( PSAs) slightly increased due to higher fuel prices, while the cost of electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) rose after a lower average plant dispatch. PSAs and IPPs respectively accounted for about 43% and 45% of Meralco’s total requirements.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market ( WESM) dropped P0.4382/kWh as lower power demand for the September supply month mitigated the impact of low reserves. WESM accounted for 12% of Meralco’s total requirements. —