Meralco rates to go down this month

MANILA, Philippines – Customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will enjoy a reduction of 16.52 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in their electric bills this month.

Meralco external communications manager Joe Zaldarriaga said the generation charge went down to P4.2583 per kWh in June from P4.4235 per kWh in May.

Zaldarriaga said this would be the second straight month that Meralco’s generation charge registered a significant reduction. 

There was a reduction of almost 60 centavos in Meralco’s generation charge last May.

“The reduction this June was due to a considerable P2.6115 per kWh decrease in WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices,” he said.

Another reason for the lower generation charge was that one of Meralco’s suppliers, First Gas Corp.’s natural gas-fired power plants, reflected reductions in their generation cost mainly as a result of lower fuel cost.

“San Lorenzo reflected a reduction of 12.58 centavos while Sta. Rita registered a drop of 2.42 centavos,” he said.

The Meralco official said that the June 2009 generation charge is the lowest since March last year.

“Comparing further the generation charge for the months of April and June, customers will in fact have a reduction of close to 80 centavos per kWh in their electricity bills,” he said.

Given the latest rate reduction, a residential customer consuming 100 kWh who paid P677.85 in May would see his June bill go down by P29.54. This is in addition to the P55.95 drop that he experienced last month.

An average Meralco residential customer consuming 200 kWh per month will experience a reduction of P68.02 this month, in addition to the P161.46 reduction reflected in his May bill. 

A customer with a 300 kWh consumption per month will see his June bill go down by P102.04, following the P251.15 drop last month.