Meralco meters. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Typical households in Metro Manila are expected to see an increase of around P65 in their electric power bills this month due to a higher overall rate, according to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Typical households are those that consume 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh). Meanwhile, households that use up 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh will see an increase of P98, P130, and P163 in their power bills, respectively.
In a statement sent by email on Friday, Meralco said the overall rate for November reached P9.4630 per kWh, higher by P0.3256 per kWh, compared to last month, driven by higher generation charges.
“The November generation charge went up by P0.2911 per kWh to P5.3346 per kWh from P5.0435 per kWh the previous month as a result of the Malampaya natural gas facility shutdown,” the power provider said.
The Malampaya facility is the country’s sole indigenous gas field which supplies power to five gas-fed power plants in Luzon. The deepwater gas-to-power project, which services 20% of the country’s power electricity requirements, previously went on a maintenance shutdown from Oct. 2 to 25.
Meralco said Malampaya’s temporary shutdown also drove up the cost of power in the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) and led to higher charges implemented by independent power producers (IPPs).
The WESM is a venue where electricity may be traded as a commodity.
Charges from WESM rose by P1.7073 per kWh amid tight supply, while charges from IPPs also went up by P0.8186 per kWh, according to Meralco.
On the other hand, charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) decreased by P0.2841 per kWh and this is mainly driven by the purchase of discounted power from four private firms, namely AC Energy, First Gen Hydro Power, San Miguel Energy, and South Premiere Power.
Last month, Meralco sourced 48.7 percent of its power from PSAs; 37.4 percent from IPPs, and 13.9 percent from the WESM.
RELATED STORIES
Solon claims stopping power rate hike won’t hurt Meralco
Meralco customers to pay higher power bill in October
Meralco urged to waive impending power rate hike