The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is laying the groundwork for a major expansion of consumer choice in the Philippine electricity market, with household customers potentially able to choose their power supplier by 2031.
The regulator is preparing a five-year roadmap for the gradual rollout of full retail electricity competition, while drafting amendments to rules intended to make it easier and less costly for consumers to switch suppliers.
ERC Contestable Market Division Chief Atty. Chiara Angela Blanco said the roadmap is expected to undergo public consultation in early November. It follows the regulator’s decision to lower the electricity demand threshold for contestable customers to 100 kilowatts in June 2026.
The ERC is proposing another reduction, to 50 kilowatts, in 2027. By the fifth year of the roadmap, the regulator envisions opening supplier choice to households.
“We’re proposing, we’re in the process of amending the omnibus rules of the Customer Choice Program to incorporate the lessons that we have learned,” Blanco said.
The planned rule changes reflect practical hurdles that have emerged as the competitive retail market expands. Among them are contracting requirements that currently involve four separate agreements, as well as upfront expenses related to replacing electricity meters.
The ERC is considering digital contracts and other measures to streamline the switching process and reduce administrative and financial barriers for customers.
The regulator also sees the roadmap as a planning tool for the broader industry. Distribution utilities would have greater visibility over future meter procurement and power supply requirements, while generators and electricity retailers could adjust their commercial strategies to a market with a larger pool of contestable customers.
“At least, the roadmap will send a clear signal to our stakeholders that this is where we are really going,” Blanco said.
The market remains in an early stage. About 8,000 customers have so far switched to competitive electricity suppliers, while another 12,491 eligible customers have yet to participate.
Residential participation has nevertheless begun to emerge following the June threshold reduction. Two villages and one condominium building have already shifted to competitive suppliers, providing early indications of how the expanded market could develop beyond large commercial and industrial users.
Still, the ERC is positioning the reform as an expansion of consumer choice rather than a campaign to force customers to switch suppliers.
Blanco stressed that participation in the competitive market remains voluntary. The regulator’s priority, she said, is to widen access and remove barriers so that eligible consumers can make their own decisions when choosing an electricity supplier.
The five-year timetable could therefore mark a significant shift in how retail electricity competition reaches consumers. Rather than relying on a single regulatory change to open the market, the ERC is seeking to sequence threshold reductions, rule changes and industry preparations over several years.
For suppliers and other market participants, the roadmap could provide greater certainty about the pace of market expansion. For consumers, its success will depend on whether the promised reforms translate into a switching process that is simpler, cheaper and sufficiently transparent to make supplier choice practical.
