MERALCO RATES DOWN IN MARCH BILLINGS

Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) overall rates are goingdown for the second month in a row this March following refunds ordered by regulators and lower generation charges.

Meralco’s residential customers will enjoy a reduction of 35.98 centavos a kilowatt-hour (kWh). A household bill for 200 kWh will pay P72 less.

The power distribution giant said this month’s rate decrease was mainly due to the start of the implementation of a P13.9-billion refund, which the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered to be done over the next 24-month or until the amount has been fully refunded.

“This amount represents the difference between the actual weighted average tariff and the ERC-approved interim average rate for distribution-related charges [covering] the period July 2015 to November 2020,” Joe Zaldarriaga, vice president of Meralco, said.

“For residential customers, the refund rate is [27.61 centavos] per kWh and will appear in customer bills as a line item called ‘Dist True-Up’,” Zaldarriaga said.

Aside from this refund, Meralco is also wrapping up a three-month process of returning to customers P1.4 billion in over-recoveries in transmission and other charges and is also going through a 24-month recovery of P2.38 billion in generation charges—both covering the period January 2017 to December 2019.

In the March billing, Meralco’s overall rate went down to P8.3195 a kwh from P8.6793 in February.