Meralco rates seen rising due to higher costs

Meralco's electricity rates are expected to increase this month, reversing the trend of a decline seen last month.

The anticipated rise in rates is primarily attributed to higher generation and transmission costs.

Peso depreciation against the US dollar is a significant factor driving up generation charges, which constitute over half of a customer's bill.

Meralco also foresees an increase in transmission charges due to the deferred recovery of reserve market payments, as mandated by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

These deferred payments are to be collected over a three-month period, potentially adding P0.13 per kilowatt-hour to transmission costs monthly.

However, Meralco hopes that a one-time refund of distribution utility regulatory reset costs, also ordered by the ERC, may help mitigate these upward pressures.