With lower generation cost, Meralco cuts rates for 6th straight month
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/07/2009 9:01 PM
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MANILA - Customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will continue to pay less for their electricity bills as the power distributor slashed rates for the sixth straight month.
Meralco said its generation charge will go down to P3.9011 per kilowatt hour this month from P4.0166 per kWh in September, bringing the total reduction in generation charge to P1.12 per kWh for the past 6 months.
The amount, which Meralco said is the company's lowest generation charge in 5 years, would slash electric bills by 11.55 centavos. Before the five consecutive reductions, Meralco said the lowest generation charge was recorded in November 2004 at P4.57 per kWh.
Residential customers consuming 100 kWh will be saving P4.55 this month, Meralco said. On the other hand, those consuming 200 kWh will see a P15.72-drop on their electricity bill.
"We are glad that in this period of severe difficulty for many of our customers, the trend of low electricity prices has been sustained. When compared with the level last April, this month's generation charge is P1.12 per kWh lower," Meralco vice president and utility economics head Ivanna de la Pena said in a statement.
Dela Pena attributed the drop in generation charge to the lower cost of power obtained from Meralco's various suppliers last month. She said the average cost of power supplied by the National Power Corp. (Napocor) was lower by 7 centavos per kWh, while that of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) further dipped by 48 centavos per kWh.
These, she said, registered an effective rate of only P1.9520 per kWh.
On top of these, Dela Pena said the cost of power sourced from independent power producers (IPP) was also lower by an average of 17 centavos per kWh due to overall higher dispatch, a higher peso, and stable fuel costs.
Meralco sourced 55% of its power requirements from IPPs in September, while Napocor and WESM accounted for 32% and 13%, respectively.
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