Power rates up next month

Business World Online

Posted on June 29, 2012 07:07:17 PM

POWER RATES will go up next month as distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has been allowed by regulators to charge higher average distribution, supply and metering charges.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved new rates for the regulatory year starting July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, the firm told the bourse on Friday.

"The order translates a maximum average price of P1.6303 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) into new distribution, supply, and metering charges to the different customer classes," it said, adding that the adjustments will be reflected in Meralco bills starting July.

"We issued the provisional authority on Thursday. The reason why the approved rate is lower than petitioned is because we used the latest available figures to determine our own calculation," ERC Executive Director Francis Saturnino C. Juan toldBusinessWorld.

A detailed breakdown of the adjustments was not made available.

In its May 7 petition asking the ERC for permission to implement maximum average prices of P1.6333/kWh from the current P1.6012/kWh, Meralco proposed supply charges of P0.596/kWh from P0.5475/kWh and metering charges of P0.4012/kWh from P0.3664/kWh. Supply charges, or the cost of billing, collections and other related services, and metering charges are flat for all residential customer classes.

For distribution charges, meanwhile, Meralco wanted an increase to P1.962/kWh from P1.078/kWh for residential consumers using up to 200 kWh, P1.5535/kWh from P1.3851/kWh for those consuming 201-300 kWh, P1.5535/kWh from P1.3851/kWh for consumers of 301-400 kWh and P2.4780/kWh from P2.3096/kWh for those that use over 400 kWh per month.

Industrial users, meanwhile, with a minimum demand of 40 kW to less than 200 kW would have their supply charges raised to P990 from the current P910 under the Meralco petition. Large industrial users that consume 200 kW to less than 750 kW will pay supply charges of P4,110 while industrial users of 750 kW to less than 10,000 kW have to pay P14,920, the firm said.

The adjustment approval for Meralco came as Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Co. (PSALM) also asked the ERC for permission to increase rates in Luzon by P0.1059/kWh and the Visayas by P0.1157/kWh to recover fuel and foreign exchange costs from February 2010 to March 2011.

Mindanao rates, on the other hand, will be decreased by P0.0258/kWh.

The PSALM petition will undergo a public hearing with the ERC starting July 19 until July 31, the regulator said in a notice published on Friday.

Shares of Meralco closed at P253.40 on Friday, up 0.96% from its previous close of P251 apiece.     source