Power rates to rise in February

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The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will implement a power rate hike this month, the country's largest electric power distribution company said on Thursday.

Meralco said it will slightly increase power rates by P0.5738 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which brings the overall rate for a household to P11.9168 per kWh this month.

It means that P115 will be the increase in the total electricity bill of a customer consuming 200 kWh.

The electricity concessionaire attributed the increase to a higher generation charge by Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) by P0.4552 to P7.1020 per kWh from P6.6468 last month.

PSAs accounted for 46.8% of Meralco's total energy requirement while IPPs accounted for 32.8%.

According to Meralco, charges from IPPs spiked by P1.4764 per kW due to higher fuel costs of First Gas - Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plants, which it said are more expensive than the gas from the Malampaya plant.

Meanwhile, Malampaya gas prices also went up by almost 12%, following the signing of a new Gas Supply and Purchase Agreement between First Gas and the Malampaya consortium.

Last month, Meralco slightly inched up its power rates by P0.084 per kWh.