MERALCO to stagger price hike in generation charges

The Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) will be implementing a staggered increase in its generation charges in the next two months to cushion its impact on consumers. 

MERALCO said that its total rates for March and April could increase by Php 0.62 per kilowatt (kWh) following the deferral of charges. 

In a separate statement, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said that the total rate is less than the expected increase of about Php 0.92/kWh plus other adjustments for value-added-tax and systems loss for the February supply month. 

This would mean that a residential customer that consumes 200 kWh may see a total increase of Php 1.11/kWh when other billing components like system loss and taxes are included. 

MERALCO said that the higher generation charge was due to the maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas facility from February 4 to 18. 

The increase in generation charges is also attributed to the spike in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices. 

MERALCO said that they have coordinated with their suppliers and the ERC for the deferral of the portion of the generation costs for the February supply month. 

However, the ERC has yet to validate the proposed increase if it complies with the fuel pass-through structure. 

In the February supply period, MERALCO secured a second emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) with Aboitiz Power Corporation’s GNPowerDinginin covering 300 MW of supply. The said deal has a full fuel pass-through structure at Php 8.53/kWh. 

MERALCO is currently negotiating its third emergency PSA with GNPD.