The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has announced a potential decrease in electricity rates for May 2025, driven by lower generation and transmission charges. This development follows a period of elevated rates due to tight power supply conditions in March.
According to Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga, initial data indicates that Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices dropped in April as power plants that were offline resumed operations, increasing market capacity. “To recall, capacity on outage went up by almost 1,000 MW while demand increased by over 1,000 MW during the March supply month, driving WESM prices higher,” Zaldarriaga explained. The restoration of these plants has eased pressure on the grid, contributing to the anticipated reduction in generation charges.
Additionally, transmission charges may decrease due to lower Reserve Market prices and the completion of an 11-centavo per kilowatt-hour (kWh) collection for February-March 2024 reserve market charges. “We also see a possibility of lower transmission charges due to the decline in Reserve Market Prices,” Zaldarriaga noted.
This potential rate cut comes as a relief for consumers after Meralco reported a significant rate hike in April, when electricity rates rose by P0.7226 per kWh to P13.0127 per kWh, largely due to a P3.4205 per kWh surge in WESM charges caused by heightened demand and reduced supply.
Meralco is still awaiting final billing data to confirm the rate adjustment. If realized, the decrease could lower electricity bills for millions of households and businesses in Meralco’s franchise area, which spans Metro Manila and surrounding provinces.
What are your thoughts on this potential rate reduction? Share your insights and discuss how this could impact households and businesses in the comments below.
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