MERALCO POWER RATES UP IN JULY

HOUSEHOLDS served by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) should expect an increase in their electricity bill this month.

In an announcement on Monday, Meralco said power rate in its franchise areas in July increased by P2.1496 per kWh, bringing the per kWh rate this month to P11.6012 this month from P9.4516 in June.

The power distributor attributed the hefty increase to the higher generation charge “as power costs normalized following artificially low rates last month.”

According to Meralco, households consuming 200 kWh will see their monthly bill go up by around P430.

Meanwhile, households consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh would see an increase in their monthly bills by P645, P860, and P1,075, respectively.

Earlier, the distribution utility retracted its announcement of rate increase in June after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered a staggered collection of generation charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for the power supply in May.

The staggered collection will be from July to September 2024.

Meralco said charges from the WESM, power supply agreements (PSAs), and independent power producers (IPPs) increased this month.

Meralco supplied 38 percent of its requirement from PSAs, 34 percent were bought from the WESM, and IPPs accounted for 28 percent of the requirement.

Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga appealed for understanding of the customers over the delayed bills as they sought guidance from the ERC on the implementation of this month’s rate adjustment.

“Rest assured that Meralco will adjust the due dates to give our customers enough time to settle their bills,” Zaldarriaga said.