Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Tuesday announced that it will implement an increase in electricity rates this January.

In an advisory, the power distributor said there will be an increase of Php 0.62 centavos per kilowatt-hour.

The increase will bring the overall rate to Php 10.90 per kWh, slightly higher as compared to the power rates in December of Php 10.28 per kWh.

For a household consuming 200 kWh monthly, the adjusted power rate translates to an increase of Php 125 in their total electricity bill.

Meanwhile, Php 187 will be added to the bill of households consuming 300 kWh per month, Php 248 for 400 kWh, and Php 309 for 500 kWh.

According to Meralco, the power rate hikes are driven by the surge in generation charge and the completion of the second distribution-related refund.

It also attributed the January hike to the higher spot prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market following the termination of its power supply contract with San Miguel Corporation (SMC) last year.