MANILA, Philippines (PNA) -- The overall generation charge of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) for the April 2011 bill will rise by 20 centavos to P5.0474 from an average of P4.8461 per kilowatthour (kWh) last March. The country's largest power producer said in a statement that doing a year-over-year comparison, the generation charge this month is still lower compared to that of April last year, when it stood at P6.7699 per kWh.
This month’s adjustment includes an increase in charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), mainly due to adjustments that pertained to costs from last May 2010 that were billed only this month. This effectively drove up the April bill of power consumers by 20 centavos per kWh.
Although Meralco only procured 2.5 percent of its overall power requirements for March from WESM, the significant increase in WESM charges more than offset the 2.4-centavo per kWh decrease in the rates of the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) over the same period. Cost of power obtained from the National Power Corporation (Napocor), meanwhile, inched up by one centavo per kWh. Meralco sourced 50.4 percent and 47.0 percent of its power requirements from the IPPs and Napocor, respectively, last month.
Of the different power suppliers of Meralco, the IPPs continue to offer the lowest rates.
Generation charge is the biggest component of the electricity bill, comprising on the average about 60 percent of what consumers pay for. Meralco emphasized that the generation charge does not go to the distribution company. It is paid to power generators such as the Napocor, generators selling through the WESM, and the IPPs with whom it has contracts.
Earlier, Meralco advised its customers to prepare for the coming summer months as power prices historically increase during this time. Meralco said power consumption also tends to shoot up during the summer months.
Appliances work doubly hard in warm weather conditions in addition to more members of the household using electricity during the summer vacation break.
The power company advised its customers to observe energy efficiency tips during this time of the year. These include opening the refrigerator only when needed, unplugging unused appliances, and ironing clothes in bulk.
