Meralco to raise August generation charges

Manila Electric Co (Meralco) customers will be seeing higher generation charges in August because of the higher cost of power from the spot market and power producers. In a statement released Monday, Meralco said the August generation charge will be at P5.3721 per kilowatt hour (kWh) compared to the July rate of P5.2871 per kWh. The rate means costumers who consume 200 kWh per month will see an increase of P17. The August increase, they explained, is due to higher prices from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) and independent power producers (IPPs). The offset cost of power from WESM increased by P1.2901 per kWh to P9.7017 per kWh in July compared to P8.4116 in June. The July increase will translate in Meralco’s August bills, Meralco said. Meralco added that there was an increase in peak period purchases from 38.4 percent last month to 62.1 percent, with around 7.3 percent of the total energy requirement coming from the WESM. Meralco lowered its power rates last month. Prices from major IPPs also increased by P0.1665 per kWh after a price increase from Malampaya natural gas and a reduction in the dispatch of Quezon Power Phils Ltd., Meralco said. Similarly, the effective cost of natural gas sold to First Gas Power Corp. in also increased by around nine percent. While the utilization of Quezon Power went down to 77.3 percent from 89.5 percent because of forced outages that hindered the plant’s output, IPPs continue to be Meralco’s lowest source of power, providing 47 percent of the total energy requirement. The increase of power costs from WESM and IPPs were counterbalanced by a decrease of P0.5198 per kWh in the cost of power from the National Power Corp (Napocor). Beginning the July supply month or Meralco’s August bills, Napocor’s rates will be lower because of wet season rates. The generation charge is the biggest component of Meralco’s bill, nearing 60 percent of the total charge. Meralco reiterated that the generation charge does not go to them but to power generators such as Napocor, generators selling via the WESM and the IPPs. — Bea Cupin/KBK, GMA News