Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) is seeking the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval to recover nearly P8 billion worth of under-recoveries from 2020 to 2022.
MERALCO stated its need to recuperate P7.982 billion worth of losses from 2020, 2021, and 2022 by asking the ERC to retrieve the amount within one year. If the proposal is approved, there will be an upward adjustment in the electricity bills.
MERALCO Vice President, and Head of Regulatory Management, Jose Ronald Valles, said that the P7.9 billion worth of under-recoveries was due to the delayed payment between power generation companies and consumer billing.
Valles said that the proposal will have an effect on customers of around 22 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh), but this still “relies on the approval of the ERC with respect to the term if it’s endorsed for a longer or shorter time frame.”
Under ERC rules, distribution utilities are expected to present their over/under-recoveries (OUR) of pass-through rates imposed on consumers, which include generation, transmission, and system loss charges, subsidies, and feed-in tariffs for lifeline consumers and senior citizens.
Meralco looks to recover P6.413 billion of deferred generation charge adjustments, P764.17 million of system loss charges, and P.607.38 million of transmission charges.