POWER DISTRIBUTOR Manila Electrical Co. (Meralco) expects a better technology cost for February because the peso’s depreciation raises prices for dollar-denominated energy contracts.
“We’re nonetheless ready for all the ultimate billings from our suppliers, however preliminary indications level to a better technology cost resulting from peso depreciation, which impacts the prices of our suppliers, most of whom have dollar-denominated contracts,” Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice-president and head of company communications, stated in a Viber message on Monday.
The technology cost usually accounts for greater than 50% of the month-to-month electrical energy invoice.
The peso closed at P58.365 on Jan. 31, weakening by 52 centavos from its P57.845 end on Dec. 27.
Mr. Zaldarriaga additionally expects a rise within the transmission cost as a result of scheduled assortment of the remaining 70% of the reserve market settlement payment incurred in March 2024.
The Power Regulatory Fee (ERC) directed the restoration of those charges over a three-month interval starting with the February billing, permitting energy turbines to recuperate their prices.
“We hope these upward pressures can be someway tempered by the one-time refund of regulatory reset prices of distribution utilities, equally ordered by the ERC efficient this month,” Mr. Zaldarriaga stated.
In December final 12 months, the ERC ordered non-public distribution utilities to refund unspent charges collected in the course of the regulatory price reset course of, totaling P1.18 billion.
For Meralco, the refund quantities to P987.16 million, equal to round 23 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for its clients.
In January, the general Meralco price declined by P0.2189 per kWh to p11.7428 per kWh, pushed by a decrease technology cost in the course of the interval.
The technology cost fell by P0.1313 per kWh to P6.8358 per kWh, primarily resulting from decrease prices from the Wholesale Electrical energy Spot Market and impartial energy producers.
Meralco is the primary energy distributor for Metro Manila and close by areas, protecting 39 cities and 72 municipalities, and delivering energy to round eight million clients.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electrical Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Helpful Belief Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an curiosity in BusinessWorld by the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Pleasure Talavera
