Meralco power rates drop anew in September

MANILA, September 14 ------ Lower ancillary service charges and taxes countered the jump in generation charges for Manila Electric Company (Meralco), resulting in another month of lower rates this September.

In a news release Friday, the Pangilinan-led distribution utility (DU) said its rates went down by PHP0.0409 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to PHP14.7424 from PHP14.7833 per kWh last August. “For residential customers of Meralco who are consuming 200 kWh, this adjustment translates to a reduction of around PHP8 in the total electricity bill,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said. “This follows a rate decrease Meralco implemented last month, and we hope that this will somehow provide relief to our customers,” he added.

The DU said ancillary service declined due to lower rates from the reserve market, while taxes and other charges slipped due to “completion of the Malampaya gas facility’s maintenance shutdown that enabled the First Gas/Prime CoreGen plants to fully utilize indigenous natural gas, which is exempt from value-added tax (VAT).” It also noted that its customers benefit from the two regulatory-mandated refunds, amounting to a total of PHP1.0139/kWh.

Source: pna.gov.ph