FILE PHOTO: Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
MANILA, Philippines—Consumers will feel the pain of higher electricity rates by May as coal prices increase, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.
Cusi, nonetheless, said that there was enough supply of coal in the country.
“When it comes to electricity, since there is an increase in the prices of coal, the price of electricity is also rising and consumers will feel this by May,” Cusi said in Filipino during President Rodrigo Duterte’s Talk to the People briefing aired on Wednesday (March 16).
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) earlier announced a power rate increase of P9.65 per kilowatt hour (kWh) this month due to higher charges from electricity suppliers and the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar.
Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president for communications, said the new rates would result in an increase of at least P13 in the total bill of a household typically consuming 200 kWh.