Customers of the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) are in for a merry Christmas after it announced lower rates in their December bills due to falling power demand caused by cooler weather.
A typical household consuming 200 kilowatt hours (kWh) a month would see a Php7 rollback in its electric bill, the utility giant said.
Electricity costs went down by Php8 in November for residential customers consuming an average of 200 kWh per month due to better supply in the wake of decreased power demand resulting from the parade of storms that battered Luzon.
The sufficient supply, especially in the Luzon Grid, continued this December, resulting in cheaper generation charges. Rates for a common MERALCO household customer decrease between Php0.0352 and Php8.4753 per kWh in December.
When broken down, the generation charge decreased by Php0.0502/kWh to Php4.1516/kWh this month as Meralco pays less for its electricity from generators. Electricity prices from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, which serves as a venue for trading power, went down by Php0.1881/kWh.
Independent power producers, meanwhile, also charged less to MERALCO, down Php0.2577/kWh due to “improved average plant dispatch,” while a strong peso helped push down import prices. The rallying local currency also aided in bringing down prices from power supply agreements — which account for 52% of electricity sold by MERALCO to consumers — by Php0.0214/kWh.
Other than generation charges, transmission charge slightly dropped Php0.0044/kWh. Taxes and other charges, however, registered a net increase of Php0.0194/kWh. Collection of universal charges also remained suspended by regulators.
