In line with the announcement of Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on the price hike that will take effect on December 2013 and January 2014 billing, they explained that the hike is not from the distribution fee that Meralco charges to their clients instead it is from the generation charges from the power provider. The said adjustment will be Php 2-Php 3 per kilowatt-hour where the first blow of the hike will be felt in the December billing.
The increase on the generation charge took place because of the temporary shutting down of Malampaya natural gas facility due to maintenance that will happen November 11 until December 10. With this maintenance, Meralco needs to contact other service providers that uses diesel rather than natural gas like in the Malampaya.
Meanwhile in connection with the price increase, Meralco suggests that their clients to be more conscious in terms of their energy consumption. With that they issue energy efficiency and safety tips where the number one on the list is that they encourage everyone not only turning off their appliances when it is not used instead they should unplug it from the energy source. Next is utilizing natural light to minimize use of electric lights and of course they suggest to use LED or CFL light bulbs rather than incandescent which they can save up to 75%.
Lastly Meralco encourage their clients to check their appliances regularly for maintenance like in the air conditioning devices it is very to clean it regularly because the dirt build up affects in the functionality of the unit same with the refrigerators that has more than 1/4 frost build up. And there’s the MOVE app of Meralco that can be downloaded via Android and iOs devices to check on your electric consumption with wide range of appliances so that you can fully budget your consumption.