Meralco rates rise in November

MANILA, Philippines — Over eight million customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) should brace for higher electricity bills in November as rising generation costs push power rates up for the second straight month.

At a media briefing yesterday, Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga announced a rate hike of P0.4895 per kilowatt-hour, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P15.551 per kWh this month.

For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment translates to an additional P98 on their electricity bills.

Zaldarriaga said the increase was largely due to the generation charge, which rose by P0.4344 per kWh amid the peso’s depreciation against the dollar and the ongoing global oil crisis.

Also contributing to the rate hike were higher taxes and other pass-through charges, including transmission costs, which cover the delivery of electricity from power plants to distribution networks.

The transmission charge went up by P0.1721 per kWh following the Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of a higher maximum allowable revenue for the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.