Residential customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) consuming around 200 kilowatt-hours (kWh) a month are expected to save a little over P100 on their electricity bills as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) begins implementing its latest six-month P9.5-billion refund order.

ERC Chairperson Saturnino Juan said Monday the latest refund would reduce residential electricity rates by about P0.50 per kWh, providing additional relief on top of an earlier refund already being implemented by the utility giant.

"For a residential customer, the rate of refund that should be paid by Meralco is P0.58. But Meralco has a collection of P0.07, so it will add up to a refund of P0.50," Juan said.

"If the consumption of a residential customer is 200 kWh, this will add up to a little over P100 that can be remitted or deducted from the bill," he added.

The latest refund stems from the ERC's finding that Meralco collected more revenue than allowed after its actual electricity sales exceeded the sales assumptions used by the regulator in determining the distribution utility's allowable revenues for 2025.

"We studied the actual revenues that Meralco collected. We compared the revenues that Meralco should have collected. We found that Meralco collected more because its kilowatt-hour sales were higher compared to the kilowatt-hour sales it used when the Commission established what it should receive for 2025," Juan explained.

He clarified that the refund is on top of the P14.17-billion refund already being implemented by Meralco, although the ERC computed only the incremental impact of the latest order.

"This is on top of the previous refund order that is being implemented by Meralco. Since this is already being implemented, we will not include this in computing the rate impact. The net impact of the latest refund order issued by the Commission is the additional P0.50 or less," he said.

Meralco, for its part, said it would comply with the ERC's directive to implement the refund over six months.

"Meralco supports initiatives of the government to provide relief to consumers and ensure that they benefit from any approved refund as quickly and transparently as possible," the utility said in a statement.

The company, however, noted that the refund resulted from the difference between its actual weighted average tariff (AWAT) and its approved distribution tariff during the covered periods, adding that the higher AWAT was driven by stronger residential electricity consumption. 

It stressed that the true-up mechanism is part of the ERC-approved regulatory process and noted that it was Meralco that filed the refund applications that were eventually approved by the regulator.

To ensure consumers receive the full amount, Meralco was ordered to submit monthly reports tracking the implementation of the refund until the entire P9.5 billion has been returned.