Electricity consumers face higher monthly power bills starting this August after energy regulators granted urgent approval to raise a line-item surcharge that subsidizes renewable power developers.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) issued a provisional authority allowing state-owned National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) to implement a Feed-in-Tariff Allowance (FTI-All) rate of ₱0.3359 per kilowatt-hour.

The new tariff is a 67 percent increase from the current charge of ₱0.2011 per kilowatt-hour.

For a residential household consuming 200 kilowatt-hours a month, the adjustment will translate to an additional charge of approximately ₱67.18 on the FIT-All line item of their monthly bill.

The FIT-All is a uniform component billed by power distribution utilities to end-users and subsequently remitted to TransCo. The collected proceeds are pooled into a dedicated fund to settle guaranteed fixed payments to eligible clean energy developers whose facilities supply power to the national grid.

The ERC cited an urgent liquidity crunch in approving the interim rate adjustment. The safety buffer of the fund—known as the Working Capital Allowance—has plummeted by more than 50 percent.

The capital shortfall occurred after last year’s approved rate hike was delayed until November, leaving TransCo with only two months of collection to build up required reserves for 2026.

“Considering the urgent need to preserve the financial viability of the FIT-All Fund and to ensure the continuous and timely payment of obligations to FIT-Eligible RE Plants, the Commission finds it reasonable and justified to authorize the provisional implementation of the proposed WCA Rate Adjustment,” the regulator stated in its order.

The commission noted that the rate increase remains a temporary measure while it continues to evaluate TransCo’s petition for a final determination. Granting interim relief provides TransCo with the required lead time to collect sufficient funds and stabilize the capital buffer.

The provisional rate granted by regulators is higher than TransCo’s original application seeking a charge of ₱0.2154 per kilowatt-hour, an amount the state entity previously calculated to clear back-payments owed to clean energy suppliers spanning 2016 through 2026.

The regulatory intervention highlights the challenges facing Philippine energy officials as they attempt to balance the financial sustainability of green energy infrastructure with consumer affordability amid persistent cost-of-living pressures.