Manila Electric Company (Meralco) customers will see slightly lower electricity bills in August as a P9.5-billion regulatory refund offsets increases in transmission, generation, and other charges.

Meralco said Monday that the overall electricity rate declined by P0.0428 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P14.7833 per kWh, down from P14.8261 per kWh in July.

“For residential customers of Meralco who are consuming 200 kWh, this adjustment translates to a reduction of around P9 in the total electricity bill,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

The decline was largely driven by a P9.5-billion refund approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), equivalent to P0.5861 per kWh for residential customers and to be implemented over six months starting in August.

The refund covers the difference between Meralco’s Actual Weighted Average Tariff and its approved distribution tariff from January to December 2025. It comes on top of an ongoing P0.4278-per-kWh refund for residential customers.

“As earlier explained by the regulator, this refund stems from the delay in the rate reset process of distribution utilities in the country that includes Meralco. We submitted the refund application in accordance with the rules. We hope that this will help provide relief to our customers and assure them that this will be implemented transparently,” Zaldarriaga said.

The reduction would have been larger if not for increases in other bill components.

Charges from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines rose by P0.3024 per kWh due to higher ancillary service costs, while taxes and other charges posted a net increase of P0.2113 per kWh.

The latter includes an ERC-approved P0.1348-per-kWh increase in the Feed-In Tariff Allowance and a P0.04-per-kWh increase in taxes arising from the greater use of alternative fuels amid the unavailability of VAT-exempt Malampaya gas.

The generation charge also edged up by P0.0296 per kWh, although this was partly offset by lower costs from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market and Meralco’s Power Supply Agreements.

Consumers will also shoulder an adjustment after the ERC allowed Meralco to recover P8.7 billion in pass-through net under-recoveries from 2011 to 2022 that the company had already advanced to suppliers, NGCP and the government.

The adjustment averages around P0.08 per kWh and is expected to be collected over 36 months.

Meanwhile, collection of the P0.0371-per-kWh Green Energy Auction Allowance remains suspended in August as ordered by the ERC.

Meralco said its actual distribution charge for a typical residential customer has remained unchanged since August 2022.