Don’t you dread it when you get a shock when you see how much your electricity bills have gone up from previous months? You definitely use more electricity than usual, especially now that it’s summertime once more and you spend most of your time at home.
To prevent bill shock, follow this instruction on how to calculate your Meralco bill.
How to Pay Your Meralco Bill in Parts
Only 17% of your overall charge, according to Meralco, goes to the business. This implies that just 510 of your $3,00 bill for March 2022 will be paid to Meralco.
What happens to the remainder of your payment then?
This is the breakdown:
A generation charge of 55%
The Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and other power producers are paid by Meralco through the Generation Charge.
10.1% for the transmission fee
The delivery price is another name for the transmission fee. When Meralco purchases electricity from its power providers, the cost of delivery for the electricity to get to Meralco’s distribution system costs 10.1% of the purchase price. The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), which provides transmission services, receives the transmission fee.
To the Distribution Charge, 17.5%
17.5% of your bill is deducted by Meralco to pay for the cost of distribution, which goes into building, developing, running, and maintaining the distribution system. Utilizing this distribution technology, power from high-voltage transmission grids is delivered to end customers.
Taxes: 11.7%
This includes, among other things, municipal franchise tax, VAT, Tax Recovery Adjustment Charge (TRAC), and Missionary Electrification Charge.
5.7% for Additional Fees
Other payables comprised of Feed-in-Tariff Allowance and System Loss are reimbursed by your Meralco bill. A portion of your money is also used to give low-income clients and senior citizens with a 5% bill discount as a lifeline.
The Things That Affect Your Electricity Bill
Many variables, according to Meralco, are involved in the rising rates. The following are some additional elements to be aware of.
Increased Demand and a High Heat Index
When relative humidity is added to air temperature, the result is what is known as the heat index, also known as the apparent temperature.The highest heat index so far this year was 51°C in Dagupan.
When the heat index is high, household appliances must operate longer and harder to keep up with the temperature. In contrast, the weather is colder during the wet season. Lower electricity usage will be achieved because you won’t feel the need to use the air conditioner or electric fan as frequently.
Types of Appliances
The electricity that powers modern gadgets keeps our homes operating smoothly and effectively. We have clean clothes, comfortable homes, and access to power for convenience, enjoyment, and work. But each of these comforts (and requirements!) has a price, one of which is an increase in your electricity bill.
Rate and Consumption Rise Month-to-Month
You should prepare your budget if you detest surprises like a sudden and big increase in your Meralco payment. Learn how to calculate your monthly energy use based on Meralco’s announced rate hike before your next Meralco bill arrives. This will enable you to calculate your prospective monthly bill accurately.
For March 2022, Meralco increased its average rate by 0.0625 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), bringing it to $9.6467/kWh. This implies that an average home using 200 kWh per month can anticipate an increase in their electric cost of roughly ₱13.
How to Calculate an Appliance’s Electric Consumption
Use this calculation to determine how many kWh a particular equipment consumes:
| Wattage/1,000 x how long the device is utilized for |
For a 1HP, 950-watt, non-inverter air conditioner, here’s a sample computation.
- 950 watts /1,000 = 0.95 x 10 hours = 9.5 kWh
- 9.5 kWh x ₱8.9071/kWh = ₱84.5595
| Appliance | Wattage | Cost per Hour | Cost Per Day if 10 Hrs/Day | Cost per Week | Rate per Month |
| AirConditioner | 950 | ₱8.46 | ₱84.60 | ₱592.20 | ₱2,368.80 |
| Normal Stand Fan | 150 | ₱1.50 | ₱15.00 | ₱105.00 | ₱42.00 |
Number and Length of Use
In fact, you’ll use more electricity if you use air conditioners rather than electric fans. However, if you use multiple electric fans simultaneously for long periods of time, your electricity consumption will be comparable to that of an air conditioner.
Quality of Appliances in Use
Did you know that a refrigerator that is older than five years would use 66% more electricity than a refrigerator that is more recent? As appliances get older, they become less energy efficient. You can estimate how much your monthly bill will be if you know which appliances in your home you use the most and how well they are maintained.
Read Your Electric Meter
Your electric meter is essential to understanding how to calculate your Meralco bill. Your total electricity usage in kilowatt-hours (kWh), which serves as the foundation for calculating your monthly bill, is calculated by Meralco using your meter readings for the previous and current months.
Why would you bother reading your own meter? Even though Meralco employs skilled meter readers, being able to read your electric meter allows you to monitor your household’s electricity usage to make sure that it isn’t excessive.
Finding out your electricity use is rather easy and clear if your electric meter includes a small digital screen display. The numbers should only be read left to right.
If a meter has four dials rather than a digital numerical display, it is electromechanical. Because its dials turn in the opposite direction from a digital meter, it appears more difficult (two moving clockwise and the other two moving counter-clockwise). But reading it is pretty simple. Simply write down the number that each dial, starting from the rightmost dial to the leftmost dial, is pointing to.
Note what you read this month and deduct it from what you want to read the following month. Since Meralco’s meter reading date can differ from yours, the calculated kWh might not match the actual kWh shown on your subsequent Meralco statement, but it at least provides you with an idea of your monthly energy usage.
Calculating Meralco Bill
Electricity prices are influenced by a variety of factors, and they fluctuate over time. Additionally, Meralco calculates a number of electricity costs using different percentages, which are included in the monthly bill. A typical consumer can find it difficult to understand a Meralco bill.
Therefore, if you’re attempting to calculate a Meralco bill, be aware that you cannot do so on your own. The actual amount you must pay for a specific month won’t be known to you until your bill arrives.
You can calculate the cost of using each appliance and electrical equipment in your home, though, if you want to reduce the amount of money you spend on electricity.
How to Calculate Philippine Electricity ConsumptionManual Calculation
To manually calculate an object’s electricity usage, follow these steps:
- Get the wattage of your device. You can find this information in the owner’s handbook, on the back or bottom of the gadget. You might try looking up the technical specifications of the item online.
- Calculate how many watts the device uses each day. Multiply the watts by the typical daily usage time of the device. Consider using a 100-watt electric fan for ten hours per day. Your electric fan uses up 1,000 watt-hours each day, which is equal to multiplying 100 watts by 10 hours.
- watt-hours to kilowatts conversion. The watt-hours of the gadget are converted to kilowatts on a Meralco account by multiplying the watt-hours by 1,000. In the previous example, 1 kWh of consumption per day is equivalent to 1,000 watt-hours divided by 1,000.
- Determine the device’s monthly power usage. Calculate your device’s monthly consumption by dividing the daily kWh by 30 days. 30 kWh are used up each month by an electric fan that uses 1 kWh each day.
Conclusion
When it comes time to pay your bills, being able to calculate your Meralco amount will relieve a lot of your tension. You may reduce your use of power by reducing your use by being aware of the elements that influence your monthly cost.
Calculating it in advance is a little uncomfortable, but it’s vital to make sure your household electricity use is under control, much like paying your Meralco payment.
For a simple and convenient location close to you, you can also pay your Meralco at ALLCASH branches and partner agents.
