Metro Manila, Philippines— Customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will pay 40 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more this month, the power distributor announced on Wednesday.
The adjustment brought the overall charge to ₱11.8198 per kWh from September’s ₱11.3997 per kWh. It is equivalent to an increase of ₱84 for residential customers consuming 200 kWh
Meralco pointed to higher generation charge for October, which went up by 30 centavos to ₱7.1267 per kWh from ₱6.8252 per kWh, in particular higher costs from independent power producers (IPPs) and power supply agreements (PSA).
The utility company said charges from IPPs increased by 46 centavos to reflect higher cost of fuel utilized by First Gas plants.
“Persisting supply restriction of the Malampaya natural gas field compelled the 1,000 MW First Gas-Sta. Rita and 500 MW First Gas-San Lorenzo power plants to switch to more expensive alternative fuel to ensure supply continuity,” Meralco explained.
The company also said charges from PSAs rose by 16 centavos per kWh “partly because of the forced shutdown of the 420 MW First NatGas-San Gabriel power plant from September 18 to 24 due to Malampaya gas supply restriction.”
Meralco added that the charges from the wholesale electricity spot market, the power trading platform, “slightly increased” due to the adjustments.
