Power rates, gasoline, bread prices to go up

MANILA, Philippines - Prices of electricity, gasoline and bread are going up.

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will raise its generation charge for this month by 11.84 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) due to lower dispatch level from its power suppliers.

Oil companies and flour millers, meanwhile, announced that they would increase prices of their respective products. 

The increase in generation fees came after two months of successive declines totaling 55 centavos per kWh.

The increase will jack up the generation charge from P4.7439 per kWh in January to P4.8623 per kWh this month.

Meralco said that despite the adjustment, the February generation charge is still lower compared to the generation charges for the whole of last year, with the exception of January and October.

Independent power producers (IPP) prices went up due to their lower dispatch following low power demand in January, according to Meralco. 

The utilization level of the IPPs fell below 80 percent for the first time since April 2010, as Meralco’s peak demand went down by more than 200 megawatts (MW) to 4,657 MW due to cooler temperatures.

IPP fuel prices also normalized in January.

Lower priced banked gas was used in the December supply month resulting in lower cost in the January billing of Meralco customers. IPPs, however, remained as Meralco’s lowest cost source of supply.

The increase in IPP prices was partly offset by a P1.36 per kWh reduction in the effective Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) price billed to Meralco in January, which is the basis of the February generation charge.

Another source of Meralco’s power requirement, National Power Corp. (Napocor), also recorded a decline by 3.43 centavos per kWh in its selling rate to the country’s largest power distributor.

Generation charge is the biggest component of the electricity bill, comprising on the average about 60 percent of what consumers pay.

Meralco emphasized that the generation charge does not go to the distribution company but is paid to power generators such as Napocor, generators selling through the WESM, and the IPPs with whom it has contracts.

Oil prices to go up

Militant transport group, the Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) will stage noisy protest rallies at the Makati offices of the Big 3 oil firms, Pilipinas Shell, Chevron and Petron, to denounce an imminent P1 hike the three companies are set to impose on the pump price of diesel.

Shell and Eastern Petroleum (EPC), a small player, have already sent an advisory that they will raise their diesel and gasoline by 75 centavos per liter and kerosene by P1.00 per liter, respectively.

The oil companies said this latest price adjustment was done to align local prices with the movement of international product prices.

EPC chairman Fernando Martinez, however, noted that while product cost of fuel increased by 90 centavos, the strengthening peso tempered the increase by 15 centavos for diesel and gasoline.

Oil companies adjust their prices every week taking into consideration the rise and fall of prices in the global market.

However, George San Mateo, secretary-general of Piston, said that the P1 hike in diesel will render useless the P1 provisional fare hike granted jeepney drivers and operators by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) last week.

 “This proves that a fare hike is not a viable solution. Instead, we will insist that President Aquino should stop his silence and should exercise government power to control oil prices and stop the unabated increases,” he added.

San Mateo said that jeepney group leaders had been gathered in a meeting by the Department of Energy where information about a possible P1 hike in diesel was bared.

“This is unacceptable to us. It is too much of an overprice and a burden to us,” he said. “This P1 hike in diesel comes after the 25 centavo diesel rollback last week.”

Loaf bread, pan de sal to go up too

Meanwhile, prices of loaf bread and pan de sal will go up by as much as P2.00 this month after flour millers announced they will be adjusting their prices, according to the Philippine Baking Industry Group (Philbaking).

In a telephone interview, Philbaking president Walter Co said that the P80 per bag increase in flour prices will result in a P2 adjustment in the price of loaf bread while a ten-piece pack pan de sal will have a P1 price increase.

At the same time, the low priced Pinoy Tasty will also be affected. Co said that they will ask the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to allow them to increase the price of Pinoy Tasty to P40 from P38. Bakers need to secure approval of DTI before they can increase the price of Pinoy Tasty because the government subsidizes part of its cost. Last Janaury, the price of Pinoy Tasty already went up by P2.

“The price adjustment will not be in the next two weeks because we are always the last to react but it will be within the month,” Co noted.

He said the price of flour has already gone up this month by P20 but they did not increase their price. In January flour prices were P780 to P810 per bag. This month it is already P800 to P820 per bag.

Flour millers will institute another round of increases, which is why, Co said, they will have to increase bread prices.

He added that sugar prices have been consistently high and they have already factored that in during their price adjustment in December.

Last December Philbaking has already adjusted their prices. Loaf bread prices went up by P1 to P1.50 while a ten pack pan de sal went up by P0.50 to P0.75 more. – Rainier Allan Ronda, Elisa Osorio