Meralco rates to go up by 60¢ per kwh

Customers of power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will pay an additional 60 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kwh) once the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) law takes effect on Nov. 1.

Motorists, meanwhile, will pay P1 to P3 more per liter of petroleum and households will pay at least P3 more per kilo of cooking gas also because of the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the EVAT’s legality.

Elpi Cuna, Meralco’s corporate communications chief, said the actual increase in electric bills is eight percent although the EVAT rate is 10 percent because the two percent franchise tax was removed by the new tax law.

Anthony Rosete, head of a Meralco task force implementing the new tax, emphasized that the additional 60 centavos per kwh is only a "pass-through charge," meaning it will go to the government, not Meralco.

"We would like to stress that we will merely comply with the law and implement whatever order will be given to us by the government," he said.

Meralco will include the new tax in electricity bills once the government issues the guidelines for the tax implementation, said Rosete. "As soon as we receive these guidelines, we will inform our customers accordingly," he said.

Aside from higher power rates, Filipinos are bracing themselves for the EVAT’s impact on petroleum prices, which continue to soar due to spiraling crude oil prices in the world market.

According to Glen Yu, president of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association, premium gasoline is expected to go up by about P3.40 per liter, regular gasoline by P2.85 and diesel by P1.17.

Liquefied petroleum gas or cooking gas is expected to rise P3.21 per kilogram, he said.

Yu said the EVAT’s impact will be offset by the removal of P1.63 excise tax and the 64-centavo per liter tariff on petroleum as required by the new tax law.

He encouraged the public to conserve fuel or use alternative fuel to minimize the EVAT’s impact. "This is something that we do not control. We will just implement what the law says," Yu said.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said power and petroleum companies cannot charge VAT until the guidelines are out.

"While this is the first time that energy will be subjected to VAT, no increase due to VAT in petroleum and power prices shall be effected until after the BIR has issued the relevant regulations on its imposition on fuel and power," Lotilla said. "We call on all industry players and the public to work with us in protecting the interest of all consumers."

Lotilla said his department is working closely with the BIR, DOF and the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure a smooth implementation of the new tax.