Meralco announces P0.48/kWh rate hike for July billing
Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced an upward adjustment of ₱0.4883 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in electricity rates due to higher generation charges.
In a statement, Meralco noted that the increase, which brought the overall rate for a typical household to ₱12.6435 per kWh, follows two consecutive months of rate reductions totaling ₱0.8575 per kWh.
For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, this adjustment translates to an approximate ₱98 increase in their total electricity bill.
The primary driver of this month's rate increase was the generation charge, which rose by ₱0.3407 per kWh. Meralco explained that charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) and Independent Power Producers (IPPs) increased by ₱0.4476 and ₱0.4992 per kWh, respectively.
According to Meralco, this was attributed to higher global fuel prices in June, influenced by the Israel-Iran conflict, and a weaker Philippine peso against the US dollar.
The depreciating local currency, reaching its weakest level since March 2025, significantly impacted dollar-denominated costs, affecting around 58 percent of PSA and 99 percent of IPP expenses.
Conversely, the increase in the generation charge was tempered by a ₱0.1703 per kWh reduction in charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
Meralco added that the supply situation in the Luzon grid improved in June, with average demand decreasing by over 770 megawatts (MW), which more than offset a 490 MW increase in average capacity on outage. During this period, PSAs, IPPs, and WESM accounted for 56 percent, 28 percent, and 16 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement.
Contributing to the overall rate increase, the transmission charge also went up by ₱0.0734 per kWh due to higher charges from the Reserve Market. Other charges, including taxes, registered a net increase of ₱0.0742 per kWh.
Meralco clarified that pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to power suppliers and the grid operator, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance are remitted to the government.
Meralco’s distribution charge has remained unchanged since August 2022, and customers continue to benefit from an ongoing distribution-related true-up adjustment, equivalent to a ₱0.2024 per kWh reduction for residential customers.