The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced earlier this month that power rates have decreased by P0.0216 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for a typical household.
From last month’s P8.7468 per kWh to P8.7252 per kWh this June, the reduction is equivalent to around P4 in the total bill of residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
According to Meralco, there have been three straight months of generation rate reduction, and a total rate decrease of more than one peso per kWh since the start of the year.
The country’s largest power distribution utility also reported that this month’s total rate is also significantly lower compared to that of June 2019, which was P10.0918 per kWh. This month’s total rate is also the lowest since February 2018.
Meralco also shared its installment programs for bills affected by the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) to provide customers relief in managing their electricity bills.
Lower Generation Charge as MERALCO Claims Force Majeure
From P4.3848 per kWh last May, the generation charge decreased by P0.0435 per kWh to P4.3413 per kWh this June. Generation charge is a component of our electricity bill which is paid to power generation companies.
Meralco also said that because of the very significant reduction in power demand in its service area during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and Modified ECQ period, the distribution utility invoked the Force Majeure provision in its Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) for the duration of the lockdown. This meant a reduction in fixed charges for generation costs that would have been charged by its suppliers.
Because of this, the Force Majeure claim totalled P614 million, equivalent to customer savings of P0.2208 per kWh. Without these Force Majeure claims, the generation charge and the total rate would have increased by 18-centavos and 24-centavos, respectively, from last month’s rate. For the past 3 months, the savings due to Force Majeure claims totalled around P1.6 billion.
Movements in Other Charges
Other charges registered an increase of P0.0219 per kWh. This was mainly due to the resumption of the P0.0495 per kWh Feed-In-Tariff Allowance (FIT-All). The ERC suspended the collection of FIT-All for April and May billing months in consideration of the ECQ. On the other hand, ERC suspended the collection of Universal Charge-Environmental Charge amounting to P0.0025 per kWh beginning this June, until further notice.
