Ghana loses US grant after gov't scraps deal with firm that includes Meralco

Meralco said Power Distribution Services, where it has a 30-percent stake, acted 'in good faith.'
ACCRA, Ghana -- The United States has cancelled $190 million in grants to Ghana under the "Power Africa" initiative in response to the Ghanaian government's termination of a contract with a private utility provider, the US embassy said.

The Millennium Challenge Corp (MCC), a US government foreign assistance agency, agreed in 2014 to provide $498 million in funding to Ghana's power sector to help stimulate further private investment.

The financing was the largest by the United States under Power Africa, which was launched in 2013 by then president Barack Obama and aims to bring electricity to tens of millions of households in Africa.

One reform under the agreement involved handing over operations at state-run Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in March to Ghana Power Distribution Services (PDS), a consortium led by Philippine electricity company Meralco.

But Ghana's finance minister informed US officials on Saturday that the government was cancelling the 20-year concession it had signed with PDS, saying payment guarantees provided were not satisfactory.

Meralco, which has a 30-percent stake in PDS, told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday that the demand guarantees were invalid because they were issued "without due authorization and in excess of the mandate" of the Qatari insurer, Al Koot Insurance and Reinsurance.

"PDS has maintained that it procured the Demand Guarantees in good faith and that it has no knowledge of any issue with same until the suspension of the concession," the Filipino utility said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the US embassy said the decision to terminate the contract was unjustified and that the MCC was therefore cancelling $190 million in grants.

The remaining $308 million will still be disbursed.

"The United States underscores the importance of contract sanctity as essential to a conducive investment climate and a pre-condition for inclusive economic growth," it said.

Ghana's Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told reporters on Wednesday that the US announcement did not represent "a crisis of confidence" between the two governments.

"It has been a difference in opinion which we have mutually agreed to respect," he said.

Meralco did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

-- with a report from ABS-CBN News

source: news.abs-cbn.com

PBA: Ginebra holds off Meralco to win championship

Winning as many PBA championships as Tim Cone has, it’s difficult to say what makes one distinct from the others.

For the Barangay Ginebra coach, one look at the massive crowd at Philippine Arena and he knows immediately why the latest jewel in his untouchable legacy stands out.

“To be able to do it in front of these fans — even the Meralco fans — it's such a special thing to be able to do this,” Cone said.

LA Tenorio scored 26 points and Justin Brownlee added 23, as Barangay Ginebra held off Meralco 101-96 to win the Governors’ Cup championship in Bocaue, Bulacan on Friday.

Game 7 didn’t have the same dramatic ending as last year’s, but it wasn’t without its nervous moments.

Ginebra’s lead, which once stood as high as 20 points, shrunk to 4 with less than a minute to go after empty trips to the free-throw line and Meralco refusing to give up.

Given a chance to seal the win and atone for his teammates’ bungled charity attempts, Tenorio split his free throws to give Ginebra some breathing space.

In Meralco’s final possession, a 3-point attempt by Garvo Lanete bounced off the rim and into the hands of Kevin Ferrer to secure Ginebra’s 10th league title in front of the 54,086 spectators, the highest gate attendance in league history.

“Imagine, 54,000 people here? I never would’ve imagined this as a coach, having the opportunity to do this in front of so many people,” said Cone, who extended his own personal record to 20 PBA championships.

Ginebra was explosive right off the bat, going up 27-19 in the first quarter then pulling away 52-32 late in the second. At the end of the third quarter, Cone and his crew held an 81-64 lead.

The champs were still comfortably ahead 100-90 with 1:34 left in the game clock, until they started to brick their free throws.

Meralco took advantage of 4 straight misses, with Chris Newsome hitting a jumper and Jared Dillinger drilling a 3-pointer to make it 100-96 with 47 seconds left.

The Bolts looked ready to cut the deficit further after Tenorio front-rimmed a 3-point attempt, but Japeth Aguilar caught the rebound, forcing Meralco to foul to stop the clock. Tenorio then walked to the free-throw line where he went 1 out of 2.

Scottie Thompson contributed 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 steals, while Greg Slaughter chipped in 12 points and 2 blocks. Brownlee added 3 blocks and was 3 of 4 from downtown.

Allen Durham finished with 26 points, 24 rebounds and 9 assists to lead Meralco, getting sufficient help from his teammates.

Dillinger, in his best game of the series, added 20 points and 5 assists, while Cliff Hodge had 14 points and 7 rebounds.

source: news.abs-cbn.com
 

Meralco launches its own 'power lab'

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Wednesday launched Power Lab, a facility that can test the electricity consumption and gadgets.

Meralco said Power Lab aims to educate Filipinos about electricity usage and help them understand the impact of energy management in their daily lives.

While the company said consumers can bring gadgets and appliances to the lab located inside the Meralco compound in Ortigas, consumers are advised to wait for the guidelines first before scheduling a visit.

The Meralco Power Lab houses an equipment testing laboratory,
a demo area and an intelligent living space.

In his speech, Meralco chairman Manny Pangilinan underscored the importance of technology and how it makes life easier now and in the future.

"Our vision for Meralco is not only a power company but as an Internet company for the power business," he said.

Experts from the Power Lab provided some important computations for consumers to save on costs:

TELEVISION
LED - P1.35 for 6 hours of use
CRT - P5.90 for 6 hours of use

REFRIGERATOR 7.2 cubic meter - P18 a day

LIGHTS
LED - P0.24 for 5 hours
CFL - P0.32 for 5 hours
Incandescent - P0.71 for 5 hours

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Power outage hits Palace, too

MANILA - Power also went out in Malacañang Wednesday afternoon.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was fielding a question in the Palace press briefing room when the power dipped, causing an audio feedback before the lights went out.

A generator then automatically came on.

The power outage also resulted in the suspension of operations of the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2, an official said.

A message on the official MERALCO Twitter account read: "At 1351H, a widespread power outage occurred within the franchise area of Meralco. Cause is still being checked."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Meralco customers may get refund

MANILA, Philippines - Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers may soon get a refund of overcharged transmission costs.

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) executive director Saturnino Juan said they have finished deliberations on the matter and would soon come up with a decision.

“There will be a refund because in the main decision of the commission, it already found that there’s a need. The question now is how much should be refunded and by who, to whom and how it will be flowed through to the end consumers who actually paid these amounts,” Juan said.

Meralco is seeking a refund of P10 billion covering double charges of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM).

Meralco earlier submitted the summary of transition supply contract line loss computation, including official receipts covering July 2006 to May 2012 to support its overcharging claims.

In March 2010, ERC ruled that there was double charging of transmission line costs on the start of operations of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in Luzon.



ERC earlier required PSALM, Philippine Electricity Market Corp. and Meralco to submit supporting documents for further deliberations.

source: philstar.com

Power prices slightly up in October

MANILA, Philippines – The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is advising its customers that power prices will increase slightly in October.

Following a P1.73 per kWh reduction in power prices in September, a residential customer with a consumption of 200 kWh will see a P0.12 per kWh increase in their electric bill.

The increase in power prices this October is a result of higher generation, transmission, and other pass-through costs.

The generation charge increased by P0.10 per kWh, from P5.40 per kWh in September to P5.50 per kWh in October.

The increase was due mainly to higher charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Marker (WESM), which went up by P1.16 per kWh.

After the holidays and rainy weather of August led to depressed demand for power, September saw an increase in consumption of electricity. On the other hand, there was a reduction in available generation capacity, and the output of coal-fired plants was restricted due to repairs and maintenance.

These eventually led to increases in WESM prices.

The higher WESM charges were partially offset by lower prices from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), whose rates decreased by P0.09 per kWh, and the National Power Corporation (NPC), which registered a decrease of P0.22 per kWh.

WESM, IPPs and NPC contributed 6.0%, 44.1%, and 49.0%, respectively, to Meralco’s power supply requirements in September.

The transmission charge also went up by P0.04 per kWh. This was due to higher ancillary generation costs, which are affected by WESM charges.

With higher generation and transmission charges, the system loss charge similarly increased by P0.02 per kWh.

Meralco said it does not earn from the generation and pass-through charges. Payment for generation charges goes to power producers (NPC, IPPs, WESM). Transmission and system loss charges meanwhile go to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and other generating companies.

Meralco charges only account for about 16% of the total electricity bill. The rest of the pass-through costs include taxes, subsidies and other charges.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Power Rates, Fuel Prices Up

MANILA, Philippines — Consumers will face increases in electric rates and oil prices this month.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) Tuesday announced that power generation charges this month will be higher by P0.11 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P5.57 from P5.46 per kWh, mainly due to soaring prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Meanwhile, Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron Philippines (formerly Caltex) raised their respective prices for premium gasoline (including unleaded) by P0.25 per liter, regular gasoline by P0.60 per liter and both diesel and kerosene by P0.30 per liter.

Total Philippines increased its prices of unleaded by P0.25 per liter, regular by P0.60 per liter and diesel by P0.30 per liter.

In a press statement, Meralco said that cost of procurement from the WESM climbed substantially by P4.29 per kWh in January. The impact of such electricity spot market purchases contributed up to P0.09 per kWh in the generation charge hike for this billing cycle. All other suppliers contributed the balance of the rate uptrend.

For those in the 100 kilowatt-hour consumption threshold, the cost impact would reach around P11.

“Charges from the WESM increased by P4.29 per kWh, contributing 9 centavos of the 11-centavo per kWh increase in generation charge,” the company said.

Prior to this upward adjustment, Meralco consumers temporarily enjoyed cost reductions that totalled P0.32 per kWh during December and January billing months.

At the same, Eastern Petroleum Philippines, an independent oil company, was yet to officially announce a price adjustment as of press time but its chief executive officer (CEO) said that it would move “later in the day”.

“We’ll move by the same level later in the day,” Eastern Petroleum CEO Fernando Martinez said.

Tuesday’s price increase was the fifth on petroleum products so far this year.

The average pump prices in Metro Manila as of Tuesday stood as follows: diesel, P44.50; unleaded, P54 and kerosene, P53.

Local oil companies are coming off back-to-back fuel price rollbacks, wherein diesel price dropped by an accumulated P1.70 per liter, premium by P0.35 per liter, regular by P0.40 per liter and kerosene by P1.60 per liter.

A price hike this week was foreseen as early as last weekend after the previous downtrend in international market went on reverse.

Meralco said adjustments in generation charge are a function of supply and demand as well as the cost movements of other key factors experienced by power suppliers, such as fuel and foreign exchange rates.

Beyond the WESM-triggered adjustment, Meralco similarly indicated that its supply procurement from state-run National Power Corporation (NPC) had also been higher by P0.04 per kWh “because of the shift to more expensive dry-season rates.”

It emphasized though that “NPC’s overall impact on generation charge was similarly mitigated by Meralco’s increased purchases during off-peak periods, when costs are relatively cheaper.”

source: mb.com.ph