Consumers of Manila Electric Company Inc. (Meralco) should brace for another rate hike this November, as announced during a media briefing on Monday.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldariaga said rates in November increased by P0.1520 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate to P13.4702 per kWh for a typical household.
Residential customers consuming 200 kWh will have to pay an additional P30 in their total electricity bill, an additional P46 for those consuming 300 kWh, P61 for consuming 400 kWh, and P76 for those consuming 500 kWh.
The increase in rates was driven by higher transmission charges, which increased by P0.1468 per kWh for residential customers due to higher ancillary service charges from the Reserve Market incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).
The FIT-All was also increased by P0.04 per kWh after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) implemented the new FIT-All of P0.2073 per kWh starting in November, from P0.11 per kWh.
However, the hike was tempered due to a drop in generation charge from P0.1008 kWh to P7.9000 from P8.0008 kWh in the previous month, due to lower charges in Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Meralco is the largest electric power distribution company and the largest power sector utility in the Philippines. It provides electricity service in Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Metro Manila, Rizal, and Quezon. -Aileen Lor
