THE ONSET of 2026 has truly been tumultuous for the Filipino power consumers, especially in the concession areas covered by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) which has been imposing rate hikes on a monthly basis since January this year.
This comes as Meralco announced a new round of electricity rate increase for households covering the month of July.
In a public advisory, the distribution utility giant said a P0.3428 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) hike would be added to the bill covering the current month, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P14.8261per kWh from P14.4833 per kWh in June.
According to Meralco, the adjustment would mean an additional P69 in this month’s bill for a typical household consuming 200 kWh.
Compelling Factors
The rate hike, Meralco explained, could be attributed to the higher generation charge, which according to the firm went up by P0.1800 per kWh to P9.2504 from P9.0704 per kWh last month. Meralco’s basis — higher fuel prices.
Charges from Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) also increased by P0.2678 to P8.8694 per kWh due to the impact of the persisting Middle East conflict in the global energy market.
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), meanwhile, rose to P8.0337 per kWh as demand in Luzon reached a record high of 14,534 megawatts (MW) on May 28, 2026.
Tighter power supply conditions in the grid pushed spot market prices higher, resulting in more frequent imposition of the secondary price cap at 11.1% of the time, Meralco said.
Taxes also registered an increase of P0.0960 per kWh, as well as transmission and other charges which also went up by P0.0668 per kWh.
Monthly Increase
Since the onset of 2026, Meralco has imposed six rate increases — January, February, March, April, June and July.
The adjusted overall rates for a typical residential household per month are as follows:
- January: Increased by P0.1637/kWh
- February: Increased due to higher transmission charges
- March: Increased by P0.6427/kWh (to P13.8161/kWh) due to higher transmission and generation charges
- April: Increased by P0.5335/kWh (to P14.3496/kWh) due to peso depreciation and tight supply
- May: Decreased slightly by P0.0151/kWh (to P14.3345/kWh) due to Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) mitigating measures
- June: Increased by P0.1488 per kWh
- July: Increased by P0.3428 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) bringing the rate for a typical household to P14.4833 per kWh
DEA-All Suspended
Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) extended the collection suspension of the P0.0371 per kWh Green Energy Auction Allowance (GEA-All) until August 2026.
The power distributor said pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid by Meralco to the power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively, while taxes, universal charges, and Feed-in Tariff Allowance are all remitted to the government.
Meralco said its distribution charge has not moved since the P0.0360 per kWh reduction for a typical residential customer beginning August 2022.
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