Meralco customers to see lower power bills this month

By Lenie Lectura - May 8, 2018

https://businessmirror.com.ph/meralco-customers-to-see-lower-power-bills-this-month/

A reduction in power generation charge led to a decline in electricity rates this month, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said on Tuesday.

Overall electricity rates for May stood at P10.0041 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), lower by P0.5436 per kWh from April’s P10.5477 per kWh. The reduction is equivalent to a decrease of around P109 in the bill of a residential customer consuming 200 kWh.

The lower May rate is mainly due to the P0.4212 per kWh decrease in the generation charge, which stood at P5.0523 per kWh. The generation charge is the main component of an electric bill.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) decreased by P1.0139 per kWh, despite higher demand for power in the Luzon grid, because of various power plants previously on scheduled maintenance shutdown going back online. The share of WESM purchases to Meralco’s total requirement this month was 22 percent.

The cost of power from independent power producers (IPPs) also went down by P0.5920 per kWh due to Quezon Power’s return to normal operations from its scheduled maintenance.

The improvement in average plant dispatch more than offset the upward adjustment due to higher Malampaya natural gas prices resulting from the quarterly repricing that reflects recent movement of crude oil prices in the world market. IPPs provided 45 percent of Meralco’s total energy requirement. Meanwhile, purchases from power-supply agreements (PSAs) increased by P0.2096 per kWh due to scheduled maintenance outage of Pagbilao Unit 1 and Ilijan Unit 1 and the quarterly repricing of Malampaya natural gas. The share of PSA purchases to Meralco’s total requirement this month was 33 percent.

Transmission charge to residential customers slightly decreased by P0.0096 per kWh. With the lower generation and transmission charges, taxes and other charges also went down by P0.1128 per kWh this month.

Meralco’s distribution, supply and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 34 months, after these registered reductions in July 2015. Meralco reiterated that it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, while payment for the transmission charge goes to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. Taxes and other public policy charges like the feed-in-tariff allowance are remitted to the government.

Meanwhile, Meralco has put on standby more than 180 generator sets for the May 14 polls. These generator sets intend to provide basic lighting to polling and canvassing places in case of unexpected power interruptions. More than 300 floodlights will also be ready for deployment and use in case of emergencies.

On May 14 Meralco will have on duty close to 500 responding crews, who will be working 24/7 to ensure that the company  is prepared to respond to any eventualities.

Meralco announced that it has finished its inspection of polling and canvassing centers within its franchise area, and has already made the necessary recommendations to the respective school and building administrators to address potential problems.