Higher Meralco bills expected this month

MANILA, Philippines — Millions of customers served by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) face higher power bills this month due to increased generation costs triggered by elevated spot market prices and a weaker peso.

At a press briefing yesterday, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga announced an increase of P0.1488 per kilowatt-hour in June, bringing the overall rate to P14.4833 per kWh from May’s P14.3345.

The adjustment, which follows last month’s slight reduction, translates to an additional P30 in the total electricity bills of typical households consuming 200 kWh.

Zaldarriaga said the generation charge, which covers the cost of power procured by Meralco from suppliers, rose by P0.2762 per kWh following a sharp increase in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices.

WESM rates climbed due to tight supply conditions in the Luzon grid, which was placed under a red alert for three consecutive days in May as demand surpassed even 2024’s El Niño-driven record levels.

Lower line rental and other charges, however, partly offset the increase following the lifting of WESM suspension on May 1.

Customers were largely insulated from higher line rental charges, as Meralco’s suppliers shouldered a significant portion of these under recently approved power supply agreements (PSAs).

Excluding line rental adjustments, PSA charges would have risen slightly, mainly due to the continued peso depreciation, which affected more than half of PSA costs.

Charges from major gas-fired power plants in Batangas, meanwhile, declined as improved average dispatch offset the impact of higher fuel costs driven by increased liquefied natural gas usage and a weaker peso.

Tempering this month’s overall rate hike was the transmission charge, which decreased by P0.1525 per kWh.

The transmission charge is paid to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines for transporting electricity from power plants to distribution networks.

The distribution charge, the only portion that goes to Meralco, has not changed since the P0.036 per kWh reduction in August 2022.

Taxes and other charges, meanwhile, recorded a net increase of P0.0251 per kWh.

For this month, residential customers will continue to benefit from Meralco’s ongoing refund equivalent to P0.4278 per kWh.