MANILA, Philippines — After a price cut in the previous month, the Manila Electric Company said that it will implement a power rate hike in the month of May.
The electricity provider attributed the rise in power rates to the increase in the generation charge, which climbed to P0.4455 per kWh. The surge was driven by higher costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and Power Supply Agreements . A red alert is issued when the power supply is insufficient to meet consumer demand and the transmission grid's operational requirements cannot be fully met.
Meanwhile, a reduction of P0.6942 per kWh in charges from Independent Power Producers helped offset potential increases in power rates. Manuel V. Pangilinan-led SP New Energy Corp. swung back to profitability in the first quarter on the back of strong contributions... The government upsized its short-term securities to P17 billion as rates slipped across the board ahead of the policy meeting...