Lower Meralco rate in May; revised power supply policy sought to protect consumers

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced a second consecutive month of electricity rate reduction this June, driven primarily by a decrease in the generation charge.

- BY GABRIELL CHRISTEL GALANG and AARON RECUENCO

In a briefing, Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, said the overall electricity rate for a typical household decreased by P0.1076 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing the rate down to P12.1552 from P12.2628 per kWh in May.

Zaldarriaga noted that a typical household consuming 200 kWh would see an approximate P22 decrease in their June electricity bill.

The main driver behind this month's rate reduction is a P0.1099 per kWh decrease in the generation charge, bringing it to P7.3552 per kWh. According to Meralco, this reduction was primarily due to lower charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs), Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).

PSAS and IPPS saw charges decrease by P0.3699 and P0.1034 per kWh, respectively, attributed to lower fuel costs and higher average dispatch.

WESM charges also dropped by P0.6342 per kWh due to an improved supply situation in the Luzon grid during May. Zaldarriaga said this improvement was a result of a 533 MW reduction in average capacity on outage, which offset a 527 MW increase in average demand.

PSAS, IPPS, and WESM accounted for 48 percent, 33 percent, and 18 percent of Meralco's total energy requirement for the period, respectively.