ANOTHER HIKE Typical households will be paying P10.28 per kilowatt hour. —INQUIRER PHOTO
Customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) may need to scale back their expenses after the country’s largest power distributor announced an increase of P0.3297 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity rates.
This brings the cost of electricity for a typical household to P10.2769 per kWh this December from last month’s P9.9472 per kWh.
For residential customers with a consumption of 200 kWh, this is equivalent to an increase of about P66 in their December electricity bill.
Although this month’s generation charge declined, the completion of a refund, which the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) mandated previously jacked up power rates.
“This month’s overall rate increase was mainly due to the completion of a distribution-related refund equivalent to P0.4669 per kWh for residential customers,” Meralco said in a statement.
Meralco is still implementing three refunds totaling P1.3340 per kWh for residential customers, which it said continues to temper its customers’ monthly bills.
The first refund amounting to 27 centavos per kWh will be completed this month and the second refund, equivalent to 19 centavos per kWh, will be fully settled by January next year. The last refund, which will end in May 2023 translates to 86 centavos per kWh.
Generation charge for December dropped by P0.1942 per kWh to P6.7975 per kWh.
Rates coming from Meralco’s power supply agreements fell by P0.2079 per kWh as the First Natgas-San Gabriel plant went back online on Oct. 15, following its scheduled maintenance outage from Oct. 1 to Oct. 14.
The appreciation of the Philippine peso likewise contributed to the decline in the overall rates.
The decrease of P1.3985 per kWh in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices further pulled down the December generation charge, owing to the improved supply situation in the Luzon grid.
“While average daily capacity on outage remained at the 3,900-MW (megawatt) level, the reduction in both peak and average demand in the November supply month resulted in fewer impositions of the secondary price cap, which triggered only 21 percent of the time in November versus October’s 52 percent,” Meralco said.
Charges from the independent power producer, however, increased by P0.0545 per kWh as First Gas-Sta. Rita Module 10 went on scheduled outage from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11 and from Nov. 19 and Nov. 20, while Sta. Rita Module 40 was also on scheduled outage from Nov. 12 to Nov. 27.
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