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By Euan Paulo C. Añonuevo, Reporter
Consumers’ electricity bills in franchise
areas of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) shot up in April despite
assurances from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that power
rates will not increase at what is considered as the start of the
hot season in the country.
The season usually lasts until June.
Based on actual billings for this month,
adjustments in the Lopez-controlled distribution utility’s
generation, distribution, system loss, and transmission charges have
resulted in a P0.9753 per kilowatt hour increase in electricity
rates.
A large chunk of the rate increase came from
Meralco’s higher generation charges, which rose by P0.5188 per
kilowatt hour, and its distribution charges, which went up P0.3036
per kilowatt hour.
The increase in electricity rates from the
country’s largest distribution utility came after the Energy
commission said that its pending application for its distribution
tariff adjustment, anchored on its entry into the performance-based
regulation scheme, will not impact on existing electricity rates.
The commission approved the amounts of P1.167
per kilowatt hour for 2008 and P1.260 per kilowatt hour for 2009 as
Meralco’s maximum average price.
The proposed distribution rates will be
applicable starting July.
“The proposed new rates of Meralco will not be
implemented until and unless it is established that long-term
consumer interests are protected and promoted,” said Rodolfo
Albano Jr., the Energy commission’s chairman and CEO.
The recent increase in Meralco’s rates,
however, came from a different culprit—higher price of fuel from
the company’s power suppliers.
Sources on Tuesday said the increase in the
company’s generation charge arose from higher prices of fuel it
bought from state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor), the
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, and its contracted independent
power producers.
Data provided by market operator Philippine
Electricity Market Corp. showed that prices in the spot market went
up by P3.304 per kilowatt hour to P8.936 per kilowatt hour in its
recent billing to Meralco.
Meralco’s fuel supply from its contracted
power suppliers also shot up primarily because of the maintenance
shutdown of the Quezon Power Plant in March.
Napocor officials could not be reached for
comment on its higher fuel costs. The agency supplies the bulk of
Meralco’s power supply.
In January, the Energy Regulatory Commission
gave Meralco the green light to recover from consumers less than
half of the power-generation costs it previously spent as payment to
its power suppliers.
The adjustment in Meralco’s rates was not
expected to make consumers’ electricity bills increase
significantly in the company’s February rate hike as the increase
was less than P0.01 for every kilowatt hour. It was culled from the
P8.8 billion in generation rate cost of underrecoveries that the
utility was allowed to collect out of the P21 billion it originally
sought.
The generation rate, which is passed on
automatically to consumers, pays for the cost of power sourced from
generating companies, and incurred by distribution utilities, such
as Meralco.
Meralco was able to amass billions of pesos in
under-recoveries as a result of a Supreme Court decision.
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