POWER DISTRIBUTOR Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said it’s awaiting a call from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on its application to gather P7.98 billion in under-recoveries filed nearly three years ago.
“Since [the decision] on the P31-billion [pass-through charges] has already been released, we’re hoping the ERC will soon choose that because those costs have already been paid to the generators, transmission provider, government, etc.,” Jose Ronald V. Valles, Meralco’s senior vice-president and head of its regulatory management, said on the sidelines of an event last week.
In 2023, Meralco filed an application searching for to get better P8.01 billion for the prices incurred in generation, transmission, system loss, and pass-through taxes from January 2022 to December 2022.
The prices translate to a rise of around 21.91 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh), which is proposed to be collected over a 12-month period.
At the identical time, the ability distributor saw over-recoveries amounting to a complete of P30.62 million from lifeline subsidy, senior citizen discounts and subsidy and native franchise tax, akin to a refund of around 0.09 centavos per kWh to consumers.
The corporate cited time lag between when costs are incurred and once they are billed to consumers, in addition to the discrepancies between actual costs and taxes paid and the revenues collected.
After offsetting the refunds against the recoveries, Meralco proposes to gather P7.98 billion or an equivalent increase of 21.81 centavos per kWh within the consumers’ electricity bills.
The corporate filed its second urgent omnibus motion last month to resume proceedings within the case and grant provisional authority and/or interim relief.
In January, the ERC approved the fuel cost recovery claims sought by power generators, allowing to gather P31 billion from Meralco customers up to a few years starting March.
While waiting for a call on its under-recovery claim, Meralco can also be waiting for its rate reset application for the primary regulatory period covering the years 2027-2030.
“Around June to July we expect a call from the ERC,” Mr. Valles said.
Under its filing, the corporate seeks a tariff adjustment of P2.34 per kWh to assist fund its proposed capital expenditure program amounting to P247.14 billion and attain its revenue requirement over the four-year period.
POWER SUPPLY PROCUREMENT
Alongside pending decisions on rate adjustments, Meralco can also be awaiting the go signal from the Department of Energy (DoE) to pursue its bidding process for the procurement of nearly 2 gigawatts for its power supply requirements.
“My concern right away is due to the delay and the timing of the filing of our revised power supply procurement plan, there could be some changes already,” Mr. Valles said.
Meralco intends to perform a competitive selection process (CSP) for its power supply needs, including a 900-megawatt (MW) baseload, 600-MW baseload, and 450-MW mid-merit, all of which were scheduled last yr.
Mr. Valles said that the DoE continues to be waiting for the comments from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) on the CSPs.
“We were speculated to have concluded the CSP for those three last yr. So we’re almost a yr delayed already. So meaning the COD (business operations date) will even should be adjusted by a minimum of a yr,” he said.
Meralco is the country’s largest private electric distribution utility, serving greater than 8.2 million customers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and parts of Laguna, Batangas, Pampanga, and Quezon.
The corporate reported a 14% year-on-year increase in its consolidated core net income to P50.6 billion for 2025, driven by power generation growth and contributions from its distribution business.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Useful Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera