Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) expects lower generation charges in December with fewer power plants on outage last month.
“Initial indications show a possibility of lower generation charge this December. We observed an improved supply situation due to lower demand and fewer plant outages, which are expected to bring down prices in the WESM [Wholesale Electricity Spot Market],” Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.
The WESM is the trading floor of electricity where prices are dictated by supply and demand.
Based on Meralco’s monitoring, the average capacity on outage went down by more than 600 megawatts (MW), and the average demand also declined by more than 400 MW during the November supply month.
Meralco’s overall power rates went up in November by P0.2347 per kilowatt-hour on higher ancillary charges.
The overall rate for a typical household went up to P12.0545 per kWh last month from P11.8198 per kWh in October.
Meralco said the transmission charge went up by P0.1211 per kWh for residential customers due to higher ancillary service charges.
It said National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) ancillary charges for regulating reserves went up almost fourfold to P91.35 per kW from P23.17 per kW.
The cost of regulating reserves accounted for around 76.5 percent of total ancillary service charges.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved an additional 257.78 MW for regulating reserve under new ancillary service procurement agreements as of October.
This was brought about by the directive of the Department of Energy to NGCP to conduct firm contracting to ensure availability of power supply.
Meralco said the generation charge for November also went up by P0.0671 to P7.1938 per kWh from P7.1267 per kWh last month due to higher charges from the WESM and its independent power producers (IPPs).
Meralco is the country’s biggest power distribution with over 7.6 million customers in its franchise area.
