Meralco Expects Power Rates to Rise in June

Customers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) should prepare for higher electricity bills this month as the power distributor anticipates an increase in pass-through charges during the June billing period.

In a statement on Tuesday, Meralco announced a “significant increase in the overall rates in June due to higher pass-through charges.” These include higher transmission charges following the partial lifting of reserve market settlement as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and an increase in the feed-in tariff (FIT) allowance also approved by the ERC.

Contributing Factors

Meralco pointed out that tight supply conditions in the Luzon grid would impact Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges, subsequently affecting the generation charge.

“To cushion the impact of the rate increase on our customers, Meralco has coordinated with its suppliers to defer a portion of their generation costs,” stated Joe Zaldarriaga, Meralco spokesperson and vice president for Corporate Communications.

Mitigation Measures

Meralco proposes to defer the collection of generation costs on a staggered basis over three months from June to August. Additionally, the power distributor has requested the ERC to defer the collection of a portion of the WESM charges.

The ERC has responded by calling on distributors in Luzon and Visayas to wait for the final billing from WESM operator Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) before issuing June bills. This measure ensures that consumer billings reflect accurate values corresponding to WESM purchases, accounting for administered pricing and the secondary price cap implemented last month.

Billing Adjustments

“Meralco will comply with this directive and will wait for IEMOP’s adjusted billing before computing the final rates for June and issuing the bills to our customers,” said Zaldarriaga. He also advised customers to expect a slight delay in the delivery of their bills, emphasizing that these efforts aim to mitigate the impact of the expected rate increase.