Manila, Dec. 9 -- Lower transmission rates and generation charges allow the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to implement a PHP0.3557 per kilowatt hour (kWh) reduction in power rates for December.

In a briefing Tuesday, Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said transmission charges accounted for the bulk of the rate reduction at PHP0.1462/kWh followed by generation charge, or those charged by Independent Power Producers (IPPs), PHP0.1358/kWh; taxes, PHP0.0457/kWh, others such as subsidies, universal charges, system loss and Feed-In Tariff (FIT-All), PHP0.0280.

He explained that the lower generation charges were driven by the lower prices of natural gas, better power plant dispatch, and strengtheni...