Residential electricity rates in key regions in the country surged in June, driven by persistent grid instability and elevated generation costs in the Visayas, according to Department of Energy (DOE) data.

Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative Inc., Northern Samar Electric Cooperative Inc., and Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative Inc. recorded the country's highest power costs during the month, with average retail tariffs climbing to between ₱14 and ₱16 per kilowatt-hour.

Consumers served by Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative faced the steepest overall charge at ₱16.57 per kilowatt-hour in June, a 32 percent increase from ₱12.53 per kilowatt-hour in May. Northern Samar Electric Cooperative registered the largest month-on-month jump, rising 41 percent to ₱15.72 per kilowatt-hour from ₱11.16 per kilowatt-hour. In northern Luzon, Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative raised its retail rates by 17 percent to ₱14.53 per kilowatt-hour from ₱12.37 per kilowatt-hour.

Manila Electric Co., the nation’s largest power distributor serving the capital region and surrounding provinces, ranked fourth among utilities with the highest residential rates. Meralco’s retail electricity charge edged up one percent to ₱14.48 per kilowatt-hour in June from the previous billing cycle.

The price spikes were heavily concentrated in the central Philippines, where widespread plant outages and seasonal demand triggered repeated yellow and red grid alerts over recent months. At least 15 distribution utilities and electric cooperatives with the highest residential tariffs in June were located in the Visayas region.

These providers included Leyte IV Electric Cooperative Inc., Leyte V Electric Cooperative Inc., Cebu I Electric Cooperative Inc., Cebu II Electric Cooperative Inc., Visayan Electric Co., MORE Electric and Power Corp. in Iloilo City, Iloilo I Electric Cooperative Inc., Central Negros Electric Cooperative Inc., Negros Electric and Power Corp., Northern Negros Electric Cooperative Inc., Samar II Electric Cooperative Inc., Biliran Electric Cooperative Inc., Bohol Light Company Inc., and Bohol II Electric Cooperative Inc.

High electricity charges extended beyond the Visayas, affecting parts of Nueva Ecija and Tarlac in Luzon, alongside Iligan City in Mindanao.

In response to elevated billing statements, Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the DOE is coordinating with the Energy Regulatory Commission to explore interventions aimed at lowering retail tariffs. Proposed measures include encouraging electric cooperatives and distribution utilities to adjust their procurement strategies toward cheaper generation sources.

Grid conditions in the Visayas have since stabilized, with no alerts reported since Friday as available capacity reached 2,716 megawatts.