Power rates are going up again after the Energy Regulatory Commission gave authority to Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to recover P0.0171 per kilowatt hour for the under-recoveries it incurred in the implementation of its lifeline charge and inter-class cross subsidy charge.

The ERC said the combined effects of these approvals is less than P4.00 per month for a residential customer consuming 200kwh. The additional rates are expected to last for about four years.

The ERC computed Meralco’s under-recoveries at P856.37 million compared to the P863.96 million applied for by Meralco. It allowed Meralco to impose an additional rate of P0.0068 per kilowatt hour until the amount is recovered.

In another decision, the ERC also fixed Meralco’s under recoveries in the inter-class cross-subsidy charge implementation at P1.049 billion as against P1.053 sought by Meralco and allowed it an additional rate of P0.0103/kWh for its recovery.

ERC executive director Francis Juan said “the ERC meticulously pored through the various submissions of Meralco and determined that these under-recoveries, with the disallowances it ordered, are part of the just and reasonable costs that the law allows a utility to recover.”