Meralco increases power rates

• 14 years ago (2010-02-07)
• David Flin

North America 998

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Significant increases in the generation charges of the Philippine state-owned National Power Corporation (Napocor) and IPPs that supply Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has prompted the country’s largest power distributor to increase rates.

In a statement, Meralco said consumers have to be ready now for a period of higher power rates after nine months of continuous decreases in the cost of power. Meralco said the cost of power supplied by Napocor, IPPs, and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) all registered significant increases in January.

The higher generation charge in January was caused by a number of factors, particularly the early dry spell brought about by the El Niño phenomenon taking a toll on the country’s hydropower plant capacity. The First Gas plants also stopped using cheaper banked gas, and higher prices reflected higher world gas prices.