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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Meralco consumers to brace for higher April billing

Meralco consumers to brace for higher April billing

Published Apr 8, 2022 03:07 pm

With rising fuel prices in the world market, customers of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) are being apprised this early to expect uptick in their electric bills this month.

The utility firm primarily indicated that “the impact of the higher international coal prices and peso depreciation is expected to weigh on the generation charge.”

The generation charge is the rate component that accounts for more than 50 percent of the costs being passed on in the consumers’ electric bills. These charges are being remitted to the power suppliers or generation companies.

Meralco likewise emphasized that settlement prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) had risen in the last supply month.

“WESM prices were higher due to tighter supply conditions in the grid resulting from higher demand,” the power firm explained. As such, that will also impact on the quantity it bought from the spot market.

It similarly noted that the pass-on tariff this month incurred add-on pressure from the relentless "gas supply restriction" from the Malampaya field, because that necessitates the liquid fuel shift of the gas-fired power plants that have been supplying power to Meralco.

The utility firm has power supply contracts with the gas generating facilities of First Gen as well as that of the Ilijan plant. With deficient gas supply from Malampaya, they will need to switch utilization to more expensive imported liquid fuel just to sustain power supply in the system.

In recent months, international oil prices have been surging above $100 per barrel, peaking beyond $130 per barrel after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the last week of February this year.

In addition, the gas repricing for Malampaya gas is done on quarterly basis which Meralco said will be felt by its customers in the April billing cycle.

The company is still waiting for the submission of all the billings from its power suppliers, but the general expectation will be increased in the rates when the power firm will be formally announcing its rate adjustments next week.

“While we have yet to receive final billings from our suppliers, there could be an upward adjustment in the April bills due to higher generation charge, consistent with what the DOE (Department of Energy) and ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) expected,” Meralco stressed.

Related Tags

#MERALCO #RATEHIKE #GLOBALOILPRICES #MALAMPAYAGAS #WESM #SPOTPRICES
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