MANILA, Philippines - Households in Metro Manila and nearby provinces will pay less for electricity this month as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has announced a rate reduction due to lower cost of power from its suppliers.
In an advisory yesterday, Meralco said generation
charge in February went down by 55 centavos to P5.24 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) – its lowest level since September 2011 – from P5.79 per kwh.
With the rate cut, customers with 200-kwh consumption will pay P116 less for the February billing period.
Meralco said it was able to reduce its rate because of the lower cost of purchasing power from its suppliers.
Meralco has power supply contracts with SEM-Calaca Power Corp. (SCPC), South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), San Miguel Energy Corp. (SMEC), Masinloc Power Partners Co., Ltd. (MPPCL) and Therma Luzon, Inc. (TLI). Power supply agreement (PSA) generation cost shrank by P1.10 per kwh.
The Energy Regulatory Commission approved the supply contracts.
The lower PSA rates cushioned the 28-centavo increase in the rates of Independent Power Producers Quezon Power and First Gas (Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo).
For the supply month of January, Meralco sourced 55 percent, 39 percent and six percent of its power supply requirements from PSAs, independent power producers, and other sources, respectively.
Meralco does not earn from pass-through charges, the largest of which is the generation charge. Payment for the generation charge goes directly to the power suppliers. The rest of the pass-through costs include transmission, taxes, and other charges. Meralco’s distribution, supply, and metering charges account for around 18 percent of the total average electricity bill.
For January, the transmission charge of transmission service provider National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) went up by six centavos for households consuming 200 kwh.