CUSTOMERS of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will see a P0.0345 per kilowatt-hour (/kWh) increase in overall tariff in October, marking the fourth straight month of increase.

鈥淭he October rate increase is mainly due to the P0.1777/kWh increase in generation charge, which was offset by the reduction in other charges,鈥 the company said on Monday.

The increase brings the overall rate to P9.2836/kWh from P9.2491/kWh in September.

Consumers using 200 kWh in a month — who make up the biggest residential segment — will see an increase of P6.91 in their bills. Those consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh can expect increases of P10.35, P13.80 and P17.25, respectively.

Meralco said the rate hike was due largely to the rise in generate charge to P4.7155/kWh in October from P4.5378/kWh last month. This was after completion in August of the three-month refund for excess payments of pass-through charges from January 2014 to December 2016, totaling P6.9 billion.

The utility said the cost of electricity from power supply agreements (PSAs) slightly increased due to higher fuel prices, while the cost of electricity from independent power producers (IPPs) rose after a lower average plant dispatch. PSAs and IPPs respectively accounted for about 43% and 45% of Meralco鈥檚 total requirements.

Charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) dropped P0.4382/kWh as lower power demand for the September supply month mitigated the impact of low reserves. WESM accounted for 12% of Meralco鈥檚 total requirements.

Meralco said the generation charge this month also includes the net recovery by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) of certain incremental costs incurred by the National Power Corp. The Energy Regulatory Commission approved last June 20 the collection of around P21.5 billion from customers of affected distribution utilities over 60 months. For customers in the Meralco service area, the collection is equivalent to a net add-on of around P0.012/kWh in the generation charge to be remitted to PSALM.

Meralco said the decrease in other charges 鈥渢empered鈥 the increase in overall tariff. Transmission charge of residential customers dropped by P0.0593/kWh, while taxes and other charges dipped by P0.0839/kWh.

鈥淢eralco鈥檚 distribution, supply, and metering charges, meanwhile, have remained unchanged for 27 months, after the registered reductions in July 2015,鈥 it added.

Meralco鈥檚 controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in 大象传媒 through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — VVS

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