Meralco sets hike in August bill

Metro Manila, Philippines - Customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) can expect higher bills in August as the power distributor will implement an upward rate adjustment of P0.6268 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

This would bring the overall rate for a typical household to P13.2703 per kWh, an increase from P12.6435 per kWh in July.

“For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around P125 in their total electricity bill,” Meralco explained in a news release on Tuesday, Aug. 12.

Meralco said higher charges in generation and transmission triggered the hike this month.

The generation charge, which covers the cost of power Meralco purchases from its suppliers, takes up more than half of the bill.

“The generation charge went up by P0.3749 per kWh primarily due to increases in charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” the company said.

“Charges from IPPs rose by P0.9476 per kWh due to the nearly P2.00 depreciation of the local currency against the US Dollar, marking its weakest level since the start of the year,” it also said.

The transmission charge for August went up by P0.1270 per kWh.

“The increase was due to the implementation of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ higher Maximum Allowable Revenue (MAR) and collection of its under-recovery for the years 2016 to 2022, as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC),” it said.

Meralco also announced an increase in the rate for June.