Just in time for the celebrations, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) brings good news to its customers with the announcement of lower power rates for December to make the holiday season even brighter.

The Manuel V. Pangilinan-led distribution utility earlier announced a reduction of P0.3557 per kWh in the electricity rate this December, bringing down the overall rate for a typical household to P13.1145 per kWh from the previous month’s P13.4702 per kWh.

 “For our residential customers with a typical consumption of 200 kWh, this translates to a decrease of around P71 in their total electricity bill this month,” Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said. “With the holiday season approaching, we hope this rate adjustment gives much-needed relief for our customer.”

According to Zaldarriaga, this month’s overall rate reduction was driven by lower transmission and generation charges.

The transmission charge for residential customers went down by P0.1462 per kWh due to lower ancillary service charges from the Reserve Market incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) while the generation charge decreased by P0.1358 per kWh due to lower charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

Charges from IPPs went down by P0.2127 per kWh due to the decrease in natural gas prices and improved plant dispatch, as well as the Peso appreciation which affected 99% of supplier costs that are dollar-denominated.  

 Charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) meanwhile slightly increased by P0.0706 and P0.8086 per kWh, respectively. PSA rates inched up mainly due to the scheduled maintenance of San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) from 27 October to 25 November 2025; while WESM charges were higher despite the decrease in demand in November, due to lower downward adjustments to the WESM bill.

IPPs, PSAs, and WESM accounted for 21 percent, 73 percent, and 6 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.

Taxes and other charges similarly registered a P0.0737 per kWh net reduction. Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) are all remitted to the government. Meralco’s distribution charge, on the other hand, has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer in August 2022.

Electrical safety tips for the holiday season

With various festivities this season, Meralco reminded the public to keep on observing electrical safety practices to ensure bright, merry, and accident-free holiday celebrations.

 Among the electrical safety tips for the holiday season are the following: 

• Unplug Christmas lights and other appliances when not in use or before leaving the house.

• Inspect Christmas lights before reusing. For those who are re-using Christmas lights, check for cracked, frayed, or damaged lights since these are potential fire hazards.

• Use proper light hangers. Avoid nails, thumb tacks, or wire staples when installing Christmas lights since these can damage wiring and increase fire risk.

• Avoid “octopus” connections by refraining from plugging multiple extension cords into one another or overload outlets, as this is a common cause of fire.

• Keep a fire extinguisher ready at home in case of emergencies.

“As we enter the season of festivities, we remind all our customers to continue practicing electrical safety to avoid any possible untoward incident. Our crews remain on standby 24/7 to respond to concerns on electricity service,” Zaldarriaga said.