Meralco bills to go down in October

Metro Manila, Philippines — Customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) can expect lower bills this month by nearly P0.36 per kilowatt-hour (kWH).

The reduction of P0.3587 per kWh in the generation charge would bring down the overall rate to P11.4295 per kWh from September’s P11.7882 per kWh, the power distributor announced Friday, Oct. 11.

This would translate to a cut of P72 in the total bill of a customer consuming 200 kWh, P108 for 300 kWh, P143 for 400 kWh, and P179 for 500 kWh.

“Ang ni-report ng spot market operator, gumanda ang supply situation, bumaba ‘yong overall demand, naging less yong power plant outages, so mas maraming power plant available to supply,” said Lawrence Fernandez, Meralco vice president and head of utility economics.

[Translation: The spot market operator reported a good supply situation, lowered overall demand, and fewer power plant outages, meaning more power plants were available to provide supply.]

Meralco said it completed the collection of deferred costs for the May supply month in September, reducing spot market charges by P5.1001 per kWh.

But Fernandez also told reporters that the overall drop could have been around P0.68 if not for the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval (ERC) of higher pass-through fuel prices under a new contract between First Gas plants Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo in Batangas and the Malampaya consortium.

“Starting October, merong patong na around P1 billion per month, at least for the next 12 months na add-on dahil pinayagan ng ERC na i-pass-through ‘yong cost ng Gas Sale and Purchase Agreements,” Fernandez said.

“That P1 billion per month is equivalent to around P0.32 per kWh na dagdag singil sa generation charge,” he added.

[Translation: Starting October, there will be an add-on of around P1 billion per month, at least for the next 12 months, as ERC approved the pass-through cost of Gas Sale and Purchase Agreements. That P1 billion per month is equivalent to around P0.32 per kWh additional cost in the generation charge.]

For October, the transmission charge decreased by P0.0383 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges, while taxes and other charges by P0.0145 per kWh, Meralco said.

The company said it is expecting reduced consumption during the “ber” months, which could further lower charges in the next months.