Meralco rates to increase 10.1338/kWh this August
Array of factors that included regulator-approved recovery of stranded liabilities had pulled up the rates billed by Manila Electric Company (Meralco) in August billing cycle by 10.1338 per kilowatt hour (kWh).
That will be a climb in total billed rate to 18.3849 per kwh from the monthago level of 18.2511 per kWh.
According to Meralco, for household consumers in the 200-kWh consumption range, the overall increase in their bills would hover at 127 for this billing period.
There had been 10.9768 per kWh reduction in the spot market cost of electricity; but the transmission charge as well as taxes and other charges had been higher by 10.0383 per kWh and 10.0577 per kWh, respectively, for this billing period.
“Prices in the spot market decreased this month due to lower power demand in the Luzon grid,” Meralco explained, adding that its purchases from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the last supply month had averaged 10.4 percent.
The recovery of stranded debts had been courtesy of Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) in the total amount of 124.2 billion and was set at 10.0265 per kWh pass-on – and it will be an added line item as universal charge in the bills.
Additionally, Meralco noted that its generation charge had risen by 10.0378 per kWh, mainly due to lower dispatch of some plants and higher cost of procurement from contracted capacities. That was an increase to 13.9763 per kWh from 13.9385 per kWh a month ago.
The utility firm qualified that its cost purchases from power supply agreements (PSAs) had been up by 10.2222 per kWh “due to lower plant dispatch resulting from forced outages of the Masinloc and Pagbilao plants.”
Also, its procurement from contracted independent power producers (IPPs) spiked by 10.0642 per kWh mainly due to “the quarterly repricing of Malampaya natural gas prices,” purposively to reflect cost movement in world prices of the country’s oil-indexed gas.
These two power sources accounted for bulk of Meralco’s supply portfolio, with its PSAs taking a fraction of 45.6percent; while its IPPs had 44.0-percent share.