Customers of Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) are starting the year with a welcome reprieve as the distribution utility announced another reduction in electricity rates — the second consecutive month of lower charges — bringing the overall rate down to P12.9508 per kWh from P13.1145 in December.
The fresh P0.1637 per kWh decrease in electricity rates this January translates to an overall reduction of P33 for customers with a consumption of 200 kWh per month.
For households with higher consumptions of 300 kWh, 400 kWh, and 500 kWh, the rate decrease is equivalent to a reduction of P49, P65 and P82 in their electricity bills, respectively.
“For the second straight month, overall electricity rates declined. We hope that this development will bring relief to all our customers as we start another year,” said Joe R. Zaldarriaga, Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications.
Lower transmission charges sustained the overall electricity rate reduction this January with the residential transmission rate dropping by P0.10 per kWh to P1.0368 per kWh mainly due to lower ancillary service charges incurred by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) from its Ancillary Service Procurement Agreements and the Reserve Market.
Also contributing to this month’s rate cut was the lower generation charge, which decreased by P0.0171 per kWh to P7.7471 per kWh owing to lower charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) and Power Supply Agreements (PSAs).
Charges from WESM went down by P1.1898 per kWh due to improved supply situation in the Luzon Grid with the reduction in both average peak demand and capacity on outage by 367 MW and 237 MW, respectively.
Charges from PSAs also decreased by P0.0516 per kWh as the San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. (SBPL) plant went back online, following its scheduled outage last month. Meanwhile, charges from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) increased by P1.4879 per kWh due to higher fixed fees of Sta. Rita following the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) confirmation of First Gas Power Corp.’s computation method under the interim extension of its contract with Meralco. The peso’s depreciation against the US dollar also contributed to the increase since 99 percent of IPP costs were dollar-denominated.
WESM, PSAs, and IPPs accounted for
7 percent, 71 percent, and 22 percent respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.
Further pulling down the overall rates this January was the P0.0837 per kWh net reduction in taxes and other charges.
These downward movements in the bill components were able to offset the implementation of the Green Energy Auction Allowance (GEA-All) which begins this month, in accordance with a recent directive of the ERC. The approved GEA-All is equivalent to P0.0371 per kWh.
The GEA-All applies to all on-grid end-users and is intended to cover the differential amount required to fully compensate GEA-eligible plants, with collections remitted to the National Transmission Corporation (TransCo).
Pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and renewable energy subsidies 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.
After a recent incident in Quezon City that disrupted electricity service to nearly 8,000 customers, Meralco once again reminded the public of the serious dangers posed by the theft of its electrical facilities, particularly power cables.
The attempt left the suspect, a
37-year-old man, in critical condition after suffering severe flashover burns, while electricity service to affected households was restored after four hours following the quick response of Meralco crews who repaired the affected lines.
“This incident underscores the grave dangers of stealing power cables and electrical facilities. Beyond the inconvenience caused by service interruptions, these acts pose life-threatening risks due to the high voltage of Meralco facilities. Any contact with energized facilities can lead to electric shock, severe injuries, or even death,” Meralco senior vice rresident and head of Networks Froilan J. Savet said.
“Once again, we urge the public to cooperate in maintaining safe and reliable electricity service by reporting any suspicious activity involving Meralco facilities,” he added.
In 2025 alone, Meralco recorded 285 theft incidents of electrical facilities including power cables. Four of these incidents resulted in physical injuries.
The company warned that theft of power cables and other electrical facilities, such as electric meters, is a violation of Republic Act No. 7832 or the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act, which carries penalties of imprisonment and fines.
Meralco reiterated that its customers may report electricity service concerns through the MyMeralco app and on its official social media accounts such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/meralco) and X (@meralco). Customers may also text their concerns to 0920-9716211 or 0917-5516211 or contact the Meralco Hotline at 16211.
“We want to assure our customers that we are here to respond quickly to any electricity service concern — whether it’s suspicious activity concerning our facilities, billing, outages, or power service emergencies,” Zaldarriaga said.