Meralco hikes rates this May
THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Thursday an upward adjustment of P0.1761 per kWh in the electricity rate this May, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P11.4929 per kWh from the previous month’s P11.3168 per kWh.
In an advisory for residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around P35 in their total electricity bill.
The generation charge went up to P7.6697 this month from P7.3295 per kWh in April due to higher Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Power Supply Agreements (PSA) costs.
Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively; while taxes, universal charges, and FIT-All are all remitted to the government.
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 is set to complete this month the implementation of the last distribution-related refund, equivalent to P0.8656 per kWh for residential customers. The impact of this will be felt in the June billing period.
To better manage electricity consumption, which historically spikes between 10 to 40% during the dry season, Meralco encourages the public to embrace energy efficiency and conservation.
Some power-saving tips that customers can practice are unplugging appliances when not in use, using LED bulbs for cost-saving lighting, ironing large batches of clothing at one time, and cleaning air conditioner filters regularly to optimize use.
Meralco customers can also have better control of their monthly electricity bills with the help of the Meralco Mobile App Appliance Calculator which provides information on the energy consumption of appliances and gadgets.
