By John Clifford Lintao
THE country’s biggest power distributor has announced a slight reduction in its rates for the month of November – but not because they wanted to alleviate economic difficulties of its consumers, but because of the decrease in generation charges for the month.
In an advisory, Meralco said overall rate for a typical household would be slashed by 3.95 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P8.5105 per kWh versus October’s P8.5500 per kWh. The figure represents a measly P8 cut on the power consumption bill for this month.
However, Meralco said the adjustment would only be for residential customers consuming 200 kWh.
Generation charges for the month decreased by 2.15 centavos per kWh to P4.2018, mainly due to the reduction in charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In the same advisory, Meralco added that they will not implement any disconnection on account of non-payment of bills until the end of 2020 for customers with a monthly consumption of 200 kWh and below.
For those consuming more than 200 kWh, Meralco said it will be giving a 30-day grace period on all payments falling due within the period of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) without incurring interests, penalties, and other charges.
Unpaid balances after the grace period will be payable in three equal monthly installments without incurring interests, penalties, and other charges.
Meralco operates and maintains the electric distribution system in the cities and municipalities of Bulacan, Cavite, Metro Manila, and Rizal; and certain areas in the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga, and Quezon.