Meralco to charge lower electric bills in May

(Updated 11:56 p.m.) Households served by the Manila Electric Co. will pay lower electric bills this month after the power distributor lowered its generation charge by 3.13 centavos per kilowatt hour (kWh). Meralco said lower billings at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) triggered the drop in its generation charge, which went down to P5.0161 per kWh in May from P5.0474 per kWh in April. The company also noted a drop in National Power Corp. (Napocor) rates and independent power producer (IPP) costs. The WESM rate has posted the largest decrease of P1.61 per kWh, while power from Napocor has gone down by 3.43 centavos per kWh.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV Meralco said IPP costs also dropped 1.02 centavos or P0.0102 per kWh. The company said the higher dispatch of Quezon Power Philippines Ltd. and an appreciation of the peso more than offset the slightly higher cost of fuel on the part of IPPs. — PE/VS, GMA News