OCTOBER bills of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers indicate an uptick in generation charge for the supply month of September.
“We are looking at a slight upward adjustment in the generation charge,” Meralco Spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said.
Last month Meralco customers consuming 200 kilowatt-hour (kWh) a month enjoyed a P0.58-per-kWh reduction in their electricity-consumption charges.
The power-rate cut, equivalent to savings of around P116 in the monthly charges, was brought about by a lower generation charge, lower transmission charge and a decrease in other charges.
For October, Meralco will release the full figures by next week. “We will be able to announce the final figures by middle of next week, when we
expect to receive all suppliers’ billings,” Meralco Utility Economic Head Larry Fernandez said.
The generation charge for the August supply month, which is reflected in the electricity bill for September, went down to P5.19 per kWh, the lowest from year-to-date and a 44-centavo-per-kWh reduction from August’s P5.63.
The reduction was primarily driven by the improved availability of generation plants as less forced outages were registered by power plants during the month. In contrast to July, when the Luzon grid experienced instances of generation deficiency, no yellow or red alerts were declared in August.
The improved availability of power plants led to higher utilization levels, with corresponding 27-centavo and 6-centavo-per- kWh decreases in the average rate of suppliers with power supply agreements (PSAs) with Meralco and of independent power producers (IPPs), respectively.
The improved reliability of power plants also led to lower prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). While the secondary price cap was triggered in 56 trading intervals in July, the cap was triggered for only 18 intervals in August to mitigate price spikes in the WESM. Charges from the WESM, excluding adjustments from prior periods and line rentals, went down by P5.34 per kWh.
In terms of share to Meralco’s total power requirements for the August supply month, PSAs, IPPs and the WESM accounted for 52 percent, 47 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Contributing also to the overall downward adjustment in the bills to households was the 4-centavo-per-kWh decrease in transmission charge. This was attributed mainly to lower ancillary charges.
There was also a cumulative decrease of 2 centavos per kWh in subsidies and the system-loss charge. Taxes, likewise, decreased by 8 centavos per kWh.
Meralco reiterated it does not earn from the pass-through charges, such as the generation and transmission charges. Payment for the generation charge goes to the power suppliers, such as the plants selling to Meralco, through the WESM and under the PSAs, as well as the IPPs.
Payment for the transmission charge, meanwhile, goes to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines. Of the total bill, only the distribution, supply and metering charges accrue to Meralco.