Business World Online
MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) has set a higher than initially announced increase in this month’s generation charge and is looking to stagger implementation to minimize the impact on consumers.
Mr. Reyes spoke at a briefing on developments at Metro Pacific Investments Corp., whose subsidiary, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., has a controlling stake in Meralco.
Earlier this week, Meralco spokesperson Joe R. Zaldariagga said the increase would be "about P2 to P2.50/kWh", with the final amount to be announced this Monday.
The substantial adjustment, which the utility said was primarily due to an ongoing maintenance shutdown at the Malampaya gas facility, has been greeted with protests by consumer and cause-oriented groups.
"Our generation charge for our November supply and December billing is about P9.107 [per kWh] but that’s just the generation charge and we are in discussions as to how to handle this," Mr. Reyes noted.
Meralco bills for last month reflected a generation charge amounting to P5.6673/kWh.
In order to soften the impact, Mr. Reyes said the utility had proposed to collect the generation charge adjustment in two tranches.
"Probably we’ll do it in two tranches and cushion the impact, and make the second tranche during a month when prices are slightly low, which is likely to be January," he explained.
"February billing should normalize," he added.
The generation charge accounts for 56.9% of the total power bill. The rest comprises the distribution charge (17.6%), transmission charge (9%), system loss charge (5%), and taxes and other charges (11.5%).
Mr. Reyes said the shutdown of Malampaya, which forced power plants to run on more expensive liquid fuel and diesel, also resulted in a higher WESM uptake "from the usual 5% to 9.5%".
In Manila, Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho L. Petilla said the staggered implementation would have to be approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
"We’re talking to Meralco if they can stagger this but this will only be with the approval of the ERC," Mr. Petilla said, adding that a Monday meeting has been set.
ERC Executive Director Francis Saturnino C. Juan confirmed this, saying the regulator "will be deliberating on Meralco’s generation charge and its proposed staggering of its recovery of generation costs incurred in order to reduce the generation charge increase for December."
Meralco services Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal as well as parts of Batangas, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.
Meralco stakeholder Beacon Electric is partly owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld. source
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