Meralco Raises Electricity Rate by 72 Centavos for April 2025

MANILA — Electricity bills are going up this April as Meralco increases its household power rate by ₱0.7226 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) due to a spike in generation costs.

The new rate brings the average charge to ₱13.0127/kWh, up from ₱12.2901/kWh in March. For households consuming 200 kWh per month, this could mean an extra ₱144 on their bill.

Meralco cited rising charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), which jumped by ₱3.4205/kWh due to tighter power supply in Luzon, particularly in March. Demand rose by over 800 megawatts, while outages increased by nearly 1,000 MW.

Costs from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) also climbed after a 400 MW contract with Limay Power Inc. ended in February. However, this was slightly offset by lower rates from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), thanks to a stronger peso.

Transmission charges for households also rose by ₱0.0809/kWh due to added reserve service fees from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Taxes and other fees increased by ₱0.1163/kWh, while Meralco emphasized that these charges are pass-through costs—paid to power suppliers, the grid operator, or the government.

To help ease the burden, Meralco implemented a refund adjustment of ₱0.2024/kWh starting this month. This is part of a ₱19.9 billion refund order from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), to be returned to customers over 36 months.