Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 10) — Consumers of power distributor Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will have to brace themselves for higher electric billing this December, the ninth straight month of rate increases.
Meralco on Friday announced that the overall household rate for the month increased by ₱0.3143 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to ₱9.7773 per kWh, from November’s ₱9.4630 per kWh.
This translates to roughly ₱63 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
The company attributed the rise in power rates to higher generation charges which increased by ₱0.1997 per kWh to ₱5.5343 per kWh from last month’s ₱5.3346 per kWh.
“This month’s charge already includes first of the four monthly installments covering the deferred costs from the November bill,” it said in a statement.
“To cushion the impact of the previous month’s Malampaya facility maintenance shutdown, it can be recalled that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) directed Meralco to defer the collection of portions of their suppliers’ generation costs and to bill these on a staggered basis beginning this December until March 2022,” Meralco added.
Meralco’s franchise area covers Metro Manila, the provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, and Cavite, as well as parts of Laguna, Quezon, Batangas, and Pampanga.
