Residential households under the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will face higher electricity bills this month, as the country’s largest power distributor raised rates due to increased generation and transmission charges.
Meralco announced on Tuesday that the overall rate climbed by ₱0.6268 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the August rate to ₱13.2703 per kWh from ₱12.6435 per kWh in July.
This means households consuming 200 kWh will pay around ₱125 more, while those using 300, 400, and 500 kWh will shoulder additional costs of ₱188, ₱251, and ₱313, respectively.
The hike was driven largely by higher generation charges, which rose ₱0.3749 per kWh. Generation costs typically make up over half of a consumer’s monthly bill.
“The generation charge increased by 37 centavos per kilowatt-hour due to higher charges from independent power producers (IPPs) as well as the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” Meralco Vice-President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.
Charges from IPPs surged ₱0.9476 per kWh, reflecting the peso’s sharp depreciation against the US dollar. Meralco noted that 99% of IPP costs are dollar-denominated.
The peso ended at ₱58.32 per dollar on July 31, weakening by nearly ₱2 from its ₱56.33 close in June.
“Because many of the costs of generation plants are denominated in dollars, such as fuel usage, the peso equivalent of their costs increased,” said Lawrence S. Fernandez, Meralco’s vice-president and head of utility economics.
Fernandez added that the peso-dollar exchange rate will be a key factor for September bills:
“So, we’ll have to monitor what the exchange rate will be until the end of the month.”