The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) lifted the suspension of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) across the Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids, restoring normal trading operations effective Friday, May 1. In a statement, the ERC explained that this WESM resumption marks a return to...
Malacañang said Congress should revisit the country’s lifeline rate system to ensure a fair and balanced distribution of electricity subsidies, amid growing concerns from consumers over rising power bills. Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this as Meralco...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been asked to implement a staggered increase on electricity bills to prevent consumers suffer from “bill shock.” Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Proactive Response and Oversight for Timely and Effective Crisis Strategy (PROTECT) Committee,...
Ranking House of Representatives members are up in arms over the glut of pass-through charges on electricity bills that consumers have to pay. Such charges include the Senior Citizen Discount, Lifeline Rate discount for 4Ps beneficiaries, Feed-in Tariff Allowance, and Green Energy Auction Allowance...
Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV said on Tuesday, April 28 electricity subsidies and other mandated discounts should be funded through the national budget and not by consumers, particularly by low and middle-income households. Aquino, who has filed Senate Resolution No. 375, pointed ...
With Filipino consumers already reeling from punishing summer power bills, it’s time to confront an uncomfortable truth: the ₱0.0371/kWh GEA-All charge surreptitiously embedded in electricity rates is not anchored on solid statutory footing under Republic Act 9136 (EPIRA) or the Renewable...
The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) raised alarm after a 34-year-old man died in Barangay Bahay Toro, Quezon City, before dawn on Saturday, April 25, while allegedly attempting to steal live electrical cables, an incident that also triggered a power outage affecting more than 6,000 customers....
The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) urged local government units to provide free electricity to the most vulnerable households in the country. ULAP President Dakila “Dax’’ Cua said the 100 percent discount on electricity charges is a timely intervention amid ...
The Marcos administration is weighing the reversal of the government’s restrictive coal policy as the country grapples with the dual pressures of surging summer demand and volatile global energy prices. Energy Secretary Sharon Garin told reporters on Monday, April 20, that the Department of...
While fuel prices are expected to drop next week, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) consumers will face higher electricity rates this month. Effective April, Meralco will see a ₱0.5335-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase in its power rates, from ₱13.8161/kWh to ₱14.3496/kWh. For households consuming...
Power rates in Luzon may see an increase this month, as its average spot market price posted the highest jump among the three regions due to the power supply-demand imbalance experienced in March. In a media briefing on Wednesday, April 8, Independent Electricity Market Operator of the...
Ayala-led renewable energy (RE) firm ACEN Corp. remains the largest retail electricity supplier (RES) in the market, having taken over the majority of the franchise area of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). According to Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), ACEN’s RES arm captured 71 percent...
