THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced on Friday a P0.0229 per kilowatthour (kWh) increase in the March electricity rate.

This brings the overall rate for a typical household to P11.9397 per kWh this month from P11.9168 per kWh in February.

For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of less than P5 in total electricity bill.

Driving this month’s overall rate increase is the P0.3976 per kWh increase in the transmission charge for residential customers due to higher ancillary service charges, which more than tripled this month and now account for around 52% of total transmission costs.

This increase was tempered by a P0.3518 per kWh reduction in the generation charge.

Charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) went down by P0.3045 per kWh due to lower energy payments for the South Premier Power Corp. (SPPC) emergency PSAs and the resumption of operations of the San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) power plant after undergoing scheduled maintenance.

Charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) decreased by P0.1443 per kWh, already reflecting deductions of incremental Malampaya gas costs for FGPC–Sta. Rita under its new Gas Sale and Purchase Agreement (GSPA), as directed by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

These were equivalent to generation charge reductions of P0.0447 per kWh and P0.0866 per kWh for the January and February 2024 supply months, respectively.

Other charges also registered a net decrease of P0.0229 per kWh. 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 the Feed-In Tariff Allowance or 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 beginning August 2022.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Arlene Rivera