Manila Bulletin
By JAMES A. LOYOLA
March 8, 2011, 8:55am
MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced that generation charge for the March bills of its customers will be lower by 1.62 centavos per kilowatthour (kWh) from P4.8623 to P4.8461 per kWh.
Meralco reported that Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices went down by P1.2345 per kWh, while the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) registered a 17.31-centavo per kWh decrease for the supply month of February.
These more than offset the 54.76 centavos per kWh increase in the cost of power purchased from the National Power Corporation (NPC). The IPPs, NPC, and the WESM supplied 45.3 percent, 45.1 percent, and 9.6 percent of Meralco’s power requirements, respectively.
Transmission and system loss charges to residential customers also went down by 3.56 and 1.49 centavos per kWh, respectively.
Households that consume 100 kWh will see a P7.24 reduction in their March bills. Similarly, customers who use 200 kWh, 300 kWh and 400 kWh will get reductions of P15.87, P23.81 and P31.74, respectively, in their bills.
Meralco also advised its customers to prepare for the coming summer months during which, historically, power consumption tends to shoot up.
The utility noted that some appliances work doubly hard in warm weather conditions in addition to more members of the household using electricity during the summer vacation break.
“We, therefore, advise our customers to observe some energy efficiency tips during this time of the year. These include opening the refrigerator only when needed, unplugging unused appliances, and ironing clothes in bulk among others,” Meralco said.
Generation charge is the biggest component of the electricity bill, comprising on the average about 60 percent of what consumers pay for.
Meralco emphasized that the generation charge does not go to the distribution company. It is paid to power generators such as the NPC, generators selling through the WESM, and the IPPs with whom it has contracts.
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