MANILA Electric Company (Meralco) customers will see a decrease in their electricity bills this January.
The company announced a 21.89-centavo per kilowatt-hour (kWh) reduction, bringing the overall rate down to P11.7428 per kWh from December’s P11.9617 per kWh.
This translates to approximately a P44 decrease for residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
The reduction is primarily attributed to lower generation charges, which fell by 13.13 centavos per kWh to P6.8358 per kWh. This decrease stems from two key factors:
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM): Charges dropped by 88.40 centavos per kWh due to improved supply in the Luzon Grid. Average peak demand decreased by 471 MW, and the average capacity on outage fell by 305 MW.
Independent Power Producers (IPPs): Charges decreased by 15.93 centavos per kWh, resulting from the peso’s appreciation (affecting 96% of dollar-denominated IPP costs), lower fuel costs, and increased dispatch from the First Gas-Sta. Rita plant.
The decrease in generation charges partially offsets a 56.38-centavo per kWh increase in charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) due to lower plant dispatch.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga urged customers to continue practicing energy efficiency, particularly as the dry season approaches.
Meralco serves customers in Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, Rizal, and parts of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, and Quezon. Its subsidiaries, Vantage Energy Solutions and Management Inc. and MeridianX Inc., provide retail electricity services in Luzon and the Visayas.
