Electricity bills for households under Meralco will see a modest dip this August, with rates reduced by P0.0428 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The slight reduction lowers the overall rate for a typical household from P14.8261 per kWh in July to P14.7833 per kWh.
For a household consuming 200 kWh a month, the adjustment translates to a savings of roughly P9 on their total bill.
The primary driver behind this month’s lower rate is a six-month, P9.5-billion refund authorized by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). For residential customers, the refund translates to a P0.5861 per kWh reduction, listed under “AWAT Refund/(Collect) 2” on August billing statements. This adjustment covers the difference between Meralco’s Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT) and its approved distribution tariff for 2025 and comes on top of an existing P0.4278 per kWh refund already in effect.
“As earlier explained by the regulator, this refund stems from the delay in rate reset process of distribution utilities in the country that includes Meralco. We submitted the refund application in accordance with the rules. We hope that this will help provide relief to our customers and assure them that this will be implemented in a transparent manner,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.
Despite the sizeable refund, consumers did not see a larger price drop due to increases across several pass-through bill components that Meralco collects on behalf of power suppliers, grid operators and the government.
Grid-related charges from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) jumped by P0.3024 per kWh, driven largely by higher ancillary service fees from the Reserve Market, which accounted for roughly 60 percent of NGCP charges. Per ERC guidelines, ancillary service fees now appear as a separate line item from transmission charges.
Taxes and other fees also registered a net increase of P0.2113 per kWh. This includes an ERC-approved P0.1348 per kWh adjustment in the Feed-In Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) and a P0.04 per kWh tax increase resulting from First Gas/Prime CoreGen relying on imported, VAT-rated alternative fuels during a Malampaya facility maintenance shutdown.
Additionally, Meralco began recovering P8.7 billion in net under-recoveries from 2011 to 2022 following ERC authorization. These costs, which cover generation, transmission and taxes previously advanced by the utility, will add approximately P0.08 per kWh over an estimated 36-month recovery period.
Generation costs edged up slightly by P0.0296 per kWh. Higher fuel expenses, impacted by global oil price movements and the temporary use of liquefied natural gas, were largely offset by a P0.5452 per kWh drop in Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) costs and a P0.1079 per kWh drop in Power Supply Agreement (PSA) rates.
Meanwhile, collection of the P0.0371 per kWh Green Energy Auction Allowance (GEA-All) remains suspended by regulatory order. Meralco noted that its own distribution charge for typical residential customers has remained unchanged since August 2022.