By Kris Crismundo | Philippine News Agency
Higher generation charges hiked power rates in franchise areas of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) in December 2024.
In a statement Tuesday, Meralco said the electricity rate in December increased month-on-month by P0.1048 per kilowatt hour (kWh) to P11.9617 per kWh from P11.8569 per kWh in November.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said generation charges went up by P0.1839 per kWh.
“For our residential customers with a consumption of 200 kWh, this translates to an upward adjustment of P21 in their total electricity bill this month,” Zaldarriaga said.
Wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) prices increased by P0.2531 per kWh as 396 megawatts in the Luzon grid went offline, leading to tighter supply conditions in the region.
Charges from power supply agreements (PSAs) were also higher this month by P0.1050 per kWh due to weaker peso, which affected around 51% of PSA costs and lower average PSA dispatch.
On the other hand, charges from independent power producers (IPPs) decreased by P0.0410 per kWh for December.
Meralco sourced 40.2% of its energy requirement from PSAs, 31.4% from WESM, and 28.3% from IPPs.
Meanwhile, transmission charges this month declined by P0.0940 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges from the Reserve Market, while taxes and other charges increased by P0.0149 per kWh.