⌛ Meralco in Manila

Have to voice a complaint about Meralco raising their rates here in Manila.....in March our electric bill was right around 6800 php for 611 kwh, then they announced rate hikes to go into effect in April. Got our bill today for April, it was 7,400 php for 557 kwh!! That just blows my mind!!

 

They're probably as useless as NORECO, right?

 

Noreco

Probably!!

 

Wow that is quite a chunk of change just for electricity. Maybe that is why everyone seems to be heading for the hills or should I say provinces. But because there is a small chance that I can get a company posting to Manila in the future I would like any expats that currently or formally reside in Manila to comment on the Condos in Manila or Makati that seem to keep springing up. How did you like them if you currently or have lived in one? Are they overated or too small for western standards? Do they come in combination Condo/apartment? I am not looking to invest in one, I just may need to set up a residence for a year or two.

 

Hi Reedee,

I know this thread is quite old but I think there was too much apathy over the subject, perhaps because of the location of the thread. Anyway, since I'm fairly new, I'm happy to give you my perspective...

My last bill was for power used from October 8th to November 8th. I used a total of 836 kwh which is very light for me as I was away for half that month & my usual usage is more like 1200 kwh. The bill was P5,883.65 which after a simple calculation, not analysing all the details, gives a net cost of 7.03 pesos per kwh. This against your 11.12 pesos per kwh last April and I think you may have had another increase since then... If you lived in Davao City, your P6,800 bill would be P4,295 and your P7,400 bill would be only P3,915. Something's definitely wrong with Meralco. I only know what I read in the newspapers so I won't make any comment except to say I'm happy to be living in Davao for electric cost. Having said that, I burn a few liters of diesel every month to cover the rotating brownouts....

Any Dumaguete info on recent prices?

 

I've never even looked at my danged meter. I guess I should, will do dat today.

But I remember, many moons ago, President Ramos making the promise that brownouts would "end by Christmastime"...

Anyone remember what year that was?

 

Could it be that president noy noy and his plan to improve infrastructure for stability for investor luring is in effect now in manila and raising rates to cover the improvement costs? Is the power supply stable and regular??

 

Hi Tunji,

From what I've read, I believe Meralco is a private company that has suffered huge problems with mismanagement and dare I say financial improprieties..... The government is clearly unhappy with the situation but is unwilling to force them to keep prices down in case they go bankrupt & the government would then have to shore them up or take them over.

They are currently buying electricity from all over the Philippines to make up the shortfall in generation, the end user is picking up the tab for that too. Some unscrupulous power companies are selling power to Meralco because they get a fast return and then blaming El Nino for the brownouts....

What concerns me is that they have not yet started any new power stations and the demand continues to rise with the 2 million annual increase in population. It takes 4 years to bring anything new online so we will have increased and longer 'brownouts' for another 4 years at least, and increased costs to boot.

 

not surprising that this is the case with power companies here.