Jun. 12--The utility's shares hit a year-high of P146 per share before closing the week at P145 on Thursday from P131 the previous day, for a nearly 11 percent spike in its market price.

In a press conference, Rafael Andrada, Meralco treasurer, said the utility stands to earn P500 million in additional revenues per month for the next seven months or a total of P3.50 billion because of the mandated increase in its distribution rates under the PBR.

The revenue estimate is based on the company's electricity sales last year.

"For the first PBR, straight-forward this is [a] rough calculation . . . If you assume 2 billion kilowatt-hours [sales], which is roughly the same level last year, and at seven months [this will be] P500 million in incremental revenues a month," he said.

The PBR is an internationally accepted rate-setting mechanism whereby a utility's tariffs are determined by the quality of its service to its customers.

It also grants a utility a yearly adjustment on its tariffs in consideration of inflation and foreign currency exchange fluctuations as well as its obligations to its franchise area.

Meralco's entry into PBR was approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission in April.

In line with this, the utility's "distribution, supply and metering" charge went up to P1.22 per kilowatt-hour, or an increase of P0.26 per kilowatt-hour from the company's tariff last year.

The said charge reflected in consumers' electricity bills directly goes to Meralco, unlike generation and transmission charges, which are billed by the company's electricity suppliers and the power grid operator, respectively.

"A big portion of our total revenues [is] pass-through cost for purchased power. But now the movement in purchased power has shifted. It has actually gone down," Ivanna de la Pena, Meralco vice president and utility economics head, said.

For 2008, Meralco registered P191.79 billion in revenues as against P186.59 billion in expenses. The said amounts are 4.40 percent and 4.12 percent lower, respectively, compared with the company's 2007 figures mainly because of lower generation costs billed by its power suppliers.

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