Electricity charges will increase to P11.4348 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in March, following an upward rate adjustment of P0.5453 per kWh announced by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Friday, March 10.
This is equivalent to an additional P109 to the total bill of households consuming 200 kWh.
According to Meralco, the partial increase in the electricity charge is due to an increase in the generation charge triggered by the scheduled maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas-to-power facility from February 4 to 18.
“This month’s generation charge increase would have been significantly higher, but we took the initiative to cushion the impact in the bills of our customers by coordinating with some of our suppliers to defer collection of portions of their generation costs,” Meralco Regulatory Management Office Head Jose Ronald Valles said in a briefing on Friday.
Meanwhile, Meralco Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said a competitive selection process is underway for the acquisition of an additional 480 megawatts power supply to augment the possible increase in demand. – cf
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