Electricity rates for Manila Electric Co. customers will edge lower in August as a P9.5-billion regulatory refund offsets higher transmission, tax, and other pass-through charges.
Meralco said Monday that its overall rate for a typical household fell by P0.0428 per kilowatt-hour to P14.7833 per kWh from P14.8261 in July.
For a household consuming 200 kWh, the reduction translates to savings of about P9 on the monthly bill.
The main driver is a P0.5861-per-kWh refund for residential customers that the Energy Regulatory Commission authorized Meralco to implement over six months starting this month.
The refund represents the difference between Meralco’s actual weighted average tariff and its approved distribution tariff for January to December 2025. It will appear on bills as “AWAT Refund/(Collect) 2,” on top of an ongoing P0.4278-per-kWh refund.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said the refund resulted from delays in the rate-reset process for distribution utilities.
The relief, however, was partly swallowed by rising pass-through costs.
Charges from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines increased by P0.3024 per kWh, largely because of higher ancillary service costs from the Reserve Market. Beginning this month, the ancillary service charge will appear separately from the transmission charge under ERC rules.
Taxes and other charges also rose by P0.2113 per kWh, including a higher Feed-In Tariff Allowance and increased taxes linked to First Gas and Prime CoreGen’s greater use of liquefied natural gas and liquid condensate during the Malampaya gas supply constraints.
Generation charges added another P0.0296 per kWh, with higher First Gas costs partly offset by cheaper Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and power supply agreement charges.
First Gas costs rose as its Sta. Rita and San Lorenzo plants used more expensive LNG during Malampaya’s maintenance shutdown.
The latest bill thus offers consumers a modest reprieve, but the underlying cost pressures remain visible. Meralco’s distribution charge itself has been unchanged for typical residential customers since August 2022, leaving fuel, market, and regulatory movements to drive much of the month-to-month volatility.
