The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Listed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said electricity bills for May will be reduced by 70 centavos per kilowatt hour (kWh) or P140 for an average household with a consumption of 200 kilowatt hours (kWh).
“Overall rates went down by P0.70 per kWh this May,” Meralco said in a statement last Friday.
The distribution utility said the lower rates was due to the reduced generation charge from all of its supply contracts and the decrease of trading prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Meralco tapped WESM for 10 percent of its power requirements, where power costs had a reduction of P4.19 per kWh.
It added that the decreased Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism (GRAM) also contributed to the generation charge fall, a reduction of P0.06 per kWh.
Meralco emphasized that the Malampaya shutdown was also offset by the lower condenstate and natural gas prices last April, compared to March.
The country’s largest distribution utility also saw a decrease on its other sources of power at 47 percent from independent power producers (IPPs) which reduced by P0.75 per and 43 percent from power supply agreements (PSAs) or P0.06 per kWh.
Meralco cited the generation charge component fell by P0.60 per kWh to P4.81 per kWh from P5.41 per kWh in April.
Taxes also decreased by P0.07 per kWh, while other charges had a reduction of P0.08 per kWh.
The reduction in generation charge offset the increase in the transmission charge, according to Meralco. PNA