Meralco power bills down again in June

Following a US$.0034 drop in the generation charge, from US$.0915 per kWh last May to US$.0881 per kWh this month, Meralco customers will experience a reduction in their power bills this June.

This is the second straight month that Manila Electric Company or Meralco’s generation charge registered a significant drop. There was a reduction of almost US$.0124 in Meralco’s generation charge last May.

"The reduction this June was due to a considerable P2.6115 [US$.054] per kWh decrease in WESM prices. One of Meralco’s suppliers, First Gas, also reflected reductions in their generation cost mainly as a result of lower fuel cost. San Lorenzo reflected a reduction of 12.58 centavos [US$.0026] while Sta. Rita registered a drop of 2.42 centavos [US$.005]," said Meralco External Communications Manager Joe R. Zaldarriaga.

He added that the June 2009 generation charge is the lowest since March last year.

"Comparing further the generation charge for the months of April and June, customers will in fact have a reduction of close to 80 centavos [US$.0165] per kWh in their electricity bills," he stressed.

Given the latest decrease, Meralco customers will see their bills drop this month. A residential customer consuming 100 kWhs who paid US$14.0124 in May will see his June bill go down by US$.6106. This is in addition to the US$1.1566 drop that he experienced last month. An average Meralco residential customer consuming 200 kWh per month will, on the other hand, experience a reduction of US$1.4061 this month, in addition to the US$3.3377 reduction reflected in his May bill. A customer with a 300 kWh consumption per month will see his June bill go down by US$2.1094, following the US$5.1939 drop last month.

"We have always maintained that whatever savings we incur from the cost of power we obtain from our suppliers would be passed on to our customers in the form of lower electricity bills," Zaldarriaga emphasized.