Metro Manila, Philippines – Customers of Meralco will have to shell out more for their monthly electricity bills in February, the power distributor announced on Tuesday, Feb. 11.
In a press statement, Meralco said the power tariff will be up by P0.2834 per kilowatt hour (kwh), bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P12.0262/kWh.
January’s rate stood at P11.7428.
This means customers consuming 200 kWh per month will see an increase of P57 in their monthly bill, the power distributor said.
Meralco attributed the hike to independent power producers (IPP) and power supply agreements (PSA) charging more amid higher expenses in generating power.
“IPP charges went up by P0.8355 per kWh due to lower average plant dispatch, weaker peso, and higher liquefied natural gas terminal fees of first gas Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo. Quezon Power went on scheduled maintenance outage in January in accordance with the grid operating and maintenance program approved by the Department of Energy. The peso depreciation against the dollar affected 97% of IPP costs that were dollar-denominated,” it said.
“The depreciation of the peso, which affected 61% of PSA costs, also pushed up PSA charges by P0.0837 per kWh,” Meralco added.
The power distributor’s franchise area covers parts of Pampanga and Bulacan, Metro Manila, and Calabarzon.
