MANILA, Philippines - Consumers are bracing themselves for slightly higher electricity bills in July, as power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) hiked its generation charge for the month by nearly 6 centavos to P5.6546 per kilowatthour (kwh).

Meralco First Vice President and Utility Economics Head Ivanna dela Peña said the increase passed on to customers reflect the cost of power the company bought from independent power producers (IPPs).

"Figures for the supply month of June which is the basis of the July generation charge, show the cost of power sourced from IPPs as increasing by around 6 centavos, from an average of P4.54 per kwh in May to P4.60 per kwh in June," dela Pena said in a statement on Tuesday.

In June, the generation charge was P5.5967 per kwh.

Dela Pena said this was due to a slightly lower dispatch of the plants in June at an average of 87%, compared to the all-time high of 92% logged in May.

"Despite the lower dispatch, the IPPs are Meralco's cheapest sources of power. The effective cost of power sourced from the National Power Corporation (Napocor) stood at P5.59 per kwh while that from the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) was at P7.90 per kwh last June."

Meralco's generation charge however, may go down in August, said Meralco communications head Joe Zaldarriaga.

The start of Napocor's wet season rates this July should provide a tempering effect in the generation charge next month.

Also, the rainy season will hopefully bring rains sufficient to improve the capability of many of the cheaper hydropower plants, and can result in lower prices in the WESM, said Zaldarriaga.