 |
March 13, 2008 |
|
|
|
 |
MANILA ELECTRIC: Explains March Generation & System Loss Charges The Manila Electric Company on Monday said that the generation charge for March 2008 is PHP4.3998 per kwh, its third lowest level since October 2004. This represents a substantial PHP1.30/kwh reduction from the generation charge of PHP5.6764/kwh in July 2007 when the automatic adjustments were restored. While it is higher by 19.39 centavos than the exceptionally low PHP4.1946 per kwh generation charge billed to customers in February, it is still lower than PHP4.42 per kwh billed to customers during the ten-month period when the automatic adjustments were suspended, Meralco pointed out. "I would like to assure the public that this is merely a cost- recovery mechanism and revenue-neutral in so far as Meralco is concerned. We never gain a single centavo from changes in the cost of power supply that is passed on to our customers," explained Merlaco Vice-President for Corporate Communications Elpi Cuna, Jr. Mr. Cuna added that the increase was primarily because of the upsurge in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market prices. From a level of PHP3.3832/kwh in January, an all-time low since the WESM's commercial operation, the average WESM price in February jumped by a steep PHP2.5524/kwh to PHP5.9356 per kwh. Further, las month, there was a significant adjustment to the WESM bill, bringing the WESM rate to PHP1.9421/kwh. Taking the data from this level, the increase is close to PHP4 per kwh. Meralco sourced 10% of its requirements from the WESM. The average WESM price could have been lower by 27.42 centavos had NPC's Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism (-3.15 centavo/kwh) and Incremental Currency Exchange Rate Adjustment (-24.27 centavo/kwh) been factored in. However, due to NPC's continued failure to issue credit memos for the negative GRAM and ICERA for Meralco's WESM purchases in December 2007 and January 2008, Meralco deemed it prudent not to include the negative adjustments to the WESM prices. Should NPC issue the overdue credit memos, the said amounts will be reflected in next month's generation charge. Meralco also clarified that NPC's overall average rate posted a reduction of 38.13 centavos per kwh, brought about by the change in ICERA from +42.88 centavo/kwh in January, to -24.27 centavo/kwh in February. The 67.15 centavos reduction in ICERA was partly offset by the 39.64-centavo increase in NPC's basic Transition Supply Contract rate. Of the Independent Power Producers, Quezon Power Philippines, Ltd., managed to post a rate reduction of 96.04 centavos mostly attributable to the plant's higher dispatch (from 59% to 76.65%). QPPL's generation cost of PHP3.7253/kwh is the lowest among all Meralco power suppliers and the substantial reduction it registered was solely responsible for bringing down the IPP's collective generation cost by 10.77 centavos compared to that of the previous month. Meralco's IPPs still registered cheaper power cost than the NPC- sourced power by at least 35 centavos per kwh. Sta. Rita registered a price of PHP4.1659 per kwh while San Lorenzo obtained PHP4.1165 per kwh. Meralco also said that starting the March 2008 billing month, ecozone locators will be billed with separate system loss rates that are lower than other comparable Industrial Service and Non- Industrial Service customers. For ecozone locators taking power at 34.5 kV, the system loss charge will be PHP0.1912/kwh which is 9 centavos lower than the PHP0.2817/kwh rate for other IS/NIS customers at the same service voltage. For ecozone locators served at secondary voltages, the system loss charge will be PHP0.5246/kwh, which is 20 centavos lower than for other secondary IS/NIS customers. Meralco clarified that the lower system loss rates for ecozone's locators is a mere allocation process. It said this will not increase Meralco's system loss under-recoveries because the system losses that are re-allocated are only those kilowatthours that comprise the allowable system loss of 9.5%. For those in the lifeline levels, the increases in bills will be minimal, the company advises. For customers consuming 50 kwh the increase will be PHP10, PHP17 for a 70 kwh customer, and PHP28 for those consuming PHP100 kwh. Headquartered in Ortigas, Pasig City, the Manila Electric Company -- http://www.meralco.com.ph/ -- is the largest utility in the Philippines, providing power to 4.1 million customers in Metropolitan Manila and more than 100 surrounding communities. As deregulation takes effect, Meralco is reducing its dependence on state-owned National Power Corp. by increasing the amount of power it purchases from independent power producers. Meralco is also preparing for competition by moving into non-regulated activities, including energy consulting, independent power production, engineering, fiber optics, e-commerce, and real estate. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on Dec. 14, 2007, that Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised the outlook on its ratings on Meralco to stable from negative. The 'B-' long-term issuer credit rating on Meralco was affirmed. |
|
|
||
|
Today's Top Stories have been selected from the Troubled Company Reporter - Asia Pacific. To receive the Full TCR-AP please CLICK HERE.
