ERC says Meralco’s LNG cost refund likely in April

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Thursday said the costs passed on to consumers by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) due to the increased use of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) will likely be refunded in April once deemed unjustified.

Meralco submitted a motion of confirmation on Feb. 19 for the validated imported LNG costs, which manifested in February’s billing, ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta told reporters.

“It may not reach March billing because [Meralco] just filed on Monday, so it will not be included in our Commission meeting this week… I don’t know if it will reach the billing because Meralco ends its billing [period] early… maybe in April,” she said.

In February, Meralco announced a power rate increase by P0.5738 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), citing higher generation charges from power supply agreements and independent power producers (IPPs).

The rise in IPP charges was primarily due to increased fuel costs at the Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo power plants operated by First Gas Power Corp., mainly stemming from the heightened usage of imported LNG.

“They [Meralco] will also refund it if we rule that there is no basis for it. In that sense, any refund will wait for our ruling which we hope to determine and issue soon,” Ms. Dimalanta said in a Viber message.

Ms. Dimalanta noted that refunds due to the Malampaya gas price increase will commence in March as “that’s what Meralco said they have not validated.”

The price of Malampaya gas to Sta. Rita surged by nearly 12%, following the signing of a new gas supply and purchase agreement between First Gas Corp. and Malampaya consortium. The Malampaya gas price to San Lorenzo rose by less than 2%, according to Meralco.

Meralco approximated that the refund will range between four to five centavos per kWh.

The power distributor expressed readiness to issue refunds to consumers after seeking ERC guidance on addressing the fuel cost increase from one of its suppliers.

Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.

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