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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Economy devider Meralco bills to rise in August as rates jump by ₱0.62 per kWh

Meralco bills to rise in August as rates jump by ₱0.62 per kWh

Published Aug 12, 2025 12:47 pm
Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced on Tuesday, Aug. 12, an increase in electricity rates this month, primarily due to higher pass-through charges and a weakened local currency.
According to Meralco, the overall rate for a typical household is now ₱13.2703 per kilowatt per hour (kWh), a ₱0.6268 per kWh increase from ₱12.6435 per kWh in the previous month.
Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications, said the adjustment is equivalent to an increase of around ₱125 for residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
Zaldarriaga said the generation charge went up by ₱0.3749 per kWh, driven mainly by increases in charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Charges from IPPs rose by ₱0.9476 per kWh, with Meralco attributing this to a nearly ₱2 depreciation of the local currency against the US Dollar, which affected around 99 percent of IPP costs that were dollar-denominated.
IPPs also posted lower average plant dispatch due to the scheduled maintenance of First Gas-Sta. Rita and First Gas-San Lorenzo power plants from June 30 to July 9 and July 10 to July 14, respectively.
WESM charges also increased by ₱0.4582 per kWh due to an almost 400 MW increase in the average capacity on outage in the Luzon grid.
However, higher IPP and WESM charges were tempered by a ₱0.2604 per kWh reduction in charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) due to lower coal and liquified natural gas prices and improved average PSA dispatch. IPPs, WESM, and PSAs accounted for 25 percent, seven percent, and 68 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.
The transmission charge also rose by ₱0.1270 per kWh due to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ higher Maximum Allowable Revenue and the collection of under-recovery from 2016 to 2022, as approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.
Other charges, including taxes, also increased by a total of ₱0.1249 per kWh.
Zaldarriaga added that the company’s distribution charge has not moved since a ₱0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer in August 2022.
Zaldarriaga, meanwhile, warned customers against a circulating text message scam, adding that “Meralco will never ask for your e-wallet account details or initiate refunds through text messages. We urge our customers to remain cautious and to avoid clicking suspicious links or providing any personal or financial information through text or email.”

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Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) electricity cost
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