Consumers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will experience higher rates of P0.1543 per kWh in the electricity rate in September due to higher transmission charges.
The hike in transmission charge is being attributed to higher ancillary service charges following the resumption of commercial operations of the Reserve Market on August 5, 2024.
Meralco said in a statement this brought the overall rate for a typical household to P11.7882 per kWh from the previous month’s P11.6339 per kWh.
Residential customers consuming 200 kWh will have an increase of P31 in their total electricity bill.
According to Meralco, total ancillary service charges from the Reserve Market were double the charges from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) ancillary service procurement agreements (ASPAs).
Meralco said the higher transmission charge more than offset the reduction in the generation charge, which went down by P0.1547 per kWh.
The power retailer attributed the decrease in the generation charge due to the Peso’s appreciation to its strongest level since December 2023, affecting 50 percent of PSA costs and 97 percent of IPP costs that were dollar denominated.
This led to the P0.2371 per kWh and P0.0529 per kWh reductions in PSA and IPP charges, respectively.
WESM charges also decreased by P0.0514 per kWh, factoring in the final of four installments of deferred May 2024 WESM costs earlier ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Meralco sourced the bulk of its power requirements from the PSAs at 46.2 percent, followed by the WESM at 27.3 percent and IPPs at 26.4 percent.
Taxes and other charges registered a P0.0177 per kWh net increase.
Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer in August 2022.
Meralco also warned customers to expect an increase in generation costs from First Gas – Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo next month following the ERC’s approval of the implementation of adjusted rates for the two suppliers which will be reflected in the October billing.
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