MANILA - Manila Electric Co., the country's largest power distributor, said Wednesday it would increase rates this month after the peso's weakness against the dollar inflated costs.

The P0.10/kwh adjustment will result to an increase of roughly P20 for those who consume 200 kwh monthly, P30 for 300 kwh, P40 for 400 kwh and P50 for 500 kwh, Meralco said.

The company said 96 percent of the power it buys is billed in dollars.

MERALCO: May 10c/kwh na pagtaas sa DEC Bill but 4 months na ring bumaba singil totalling 35c/kwh

Singil ngayon,mas mababa pa rin vs Dec2015 pic.twitter.com/i4eef6mZRB — alvin elchico (@alvinelchico) December 7, 2016

The peso weakened to eight-year lows last month, due to uncertainty from the win of US President-elect Donald Trump and an upcoming interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve.

The local currency breached the P50 per dollar level in intra-day trade, a level not seen since the 2008 global financial crisis. It averaged P49.682 in morning trading on Wednesday.

If the peso average breaches P49.73 this month, power generators could again increase prices, Meralco said. -- reports from Alvin Elchico, ABS-CBN News