Across the world, power rates have always been top of mind of investors when it comes to business development and expansion. It's a significant factor that can strongly impact operations, production, and regional and global competition.

Electricity rates in recent years were significantly impacted from global disruptions particularly the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. The Philippine energy industry was not spared from these challenges as it took a hit given the country's heavy reliance on imported coal and domestic gas, which are benchmarked in the volatile world market prices.

These recent global disruptions highlighted the important role electricity rates play in powering and defining economic progress and social development.

But the situation is not the same across all energy markets which is why a comprehensive analysis is a must to contextualize the electricity rates in different countries. After all, poor understanding of electricity tariffs can negatively impact a business—whether small or a full-fledged corporation.

To better understand how electricity rates fare across different countries, the International Energy Consultants or IEC conducted a comprehensive analysis and comparison of 46 energy markets, including two American states.

The IEC is an Australia-based consulting firm that has strong familiarity with the energy markets in the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Its most recent 2022 study is the fourth in a series to be published by the IEC. Similar reports have been compiled as well in 2012, 2016, and 2018.

Just like in its previous reports, energy markets included in the 2022 study were selected based on availability and quality of data, with a focus on those which would provide a representative range of costs and tariffs. For the Philippines, the IEC used data from the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) since the company is the largest distribution utility in the country.