Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 11) — Customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) can expect lower power bills this month after the firm slashed electricity rates.
In a statement on Tuesday, Meralco said the electricity rate decreased by ₱0.1180 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the overall rate for a typical household to ₱11.3168 per kWh from ₱11.4348 per kWh in March.Households consuming 200 kWh will see a reduction of around ₱24 in their bills.Meralco attributed the decline in power rates to lower generation charge, which fell to ₱7.3295 this month from ₱7.3790 per kWh. This is despite the collection of around ₱0.20 per kWh as part of the first wave of collection for deferred generation costs.The power distributor said last month that it would implement a deferred collection of around ₱1.1 billion in generation charges from March “to cushion the impact of the rate increase to its customers.Generation cost covers 55% of the billing statement. The rest are distribution (17.5%), transmission (10.1%), taxes (11.7%), and others (5.7%). Meralco’s franchise area covers central to southern Luzon, including Metro Manila.The effect of the collection of the first installment was more than offset by lower costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Meralco’s Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) for the April billing period,” Meralco said.WESM charges inched down by ₱1.0462 per kWh following an improved supply condition in the Luzon grid, while charges from PSAs also dipped by ₱0.0741 per kWh amid the strengthening of the local currency.
