Meralco customers to pay higher power bill in October

MANILA, Philippines — Customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will pay an additional 2.83 centavos per kilowatt-hour more in October as Meralco’s overall rate increased for the seventh month in a row.

For the typical household billed for 200 kWh, the increase means an additional P6 in the monthly bill.

Since April, increases in the distribution giant’s overall rate have accumulated to 81.79 centavos per kWh.

Meralco said the cause was mainly an increase in the transmission charge collected by the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

For the October billing cycle, Meralco’s overall rate reached P9.1374 per kWh from P9.1091 per kWh in September, mainly due to a higher generation charge.

The transmission charge for residential customers alone rose by 2.83 per kWh to 70.85 centavos per kWh from 68.03 centavos per kWh.

Lawrence Fernandez, vice president of Meralco, said at a briefing that the increase was due to higher ancillary service charges, which accounts for about 33 percent of the transmission charge.

Meanwhile, an improved supply situation brought down the generation charge by 0.04 per kWh to P5.0435 in October from P5.0439 per kWh previously.At the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, charges dropped by P1.2051 per kWh amid lower demand.