Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) announced an increase of P0.4883 per kilowatt-hour for July 2025, bringing the overall rate for a typical household to P12.6435 per kilowatt-hour on higher fuel prices and a weaker peso.
This followed two consecutive months of electricity rate reductions totaling P0.8575 per kWh, Meralco said in a statement Friday.
Residential customers using 200 kWh will see their total electricity bill increase by around P98.
Meralco attributed the overall rate increase to the generation charge, which rose by P0.3407 per kWh.
Charges from Meralco’s power supply agreements (PSA) and independent power producers (IPPs) increased by P0.4476 and P0.4992 per kilowatt-hour, respectively amid higher fuel prices and a weaker peso against the US dollar. The peso closed at 56.47 against the US dollar Friday.
Global fuel prices rose in June in reaction to the Israel-Iran conflict. The impact of higher fuel costs was intensified by the peso’s depreciation to its weakest level since March 2025, affecting about 58 percent of power supply agreement and 99 percent of independent power producer costs that are dollar-denominated.
The increase in the generation charge was somewhat offset by a P0.1703-per-kWh reduction in charges from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
The supply situation in the Luzon grid improved in June as average demand decreased by more than 770 megawatts, more than compensating for a 490 megawatt increase in average capacity on outage.
Power supply agreements, independent power producers and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market accounted for 56 percent, 28 percent and 16 percent, respectively, of Meralco’s total energy requirement for the period.
The company also noted that the transmission charge contributed to the overall rate increase, rising by P0.0734 per kilowatt-hour due to higher charges from the reserve market. Other charges, including taxes, saw a net increase of P0.0742 per kWh.
Meralco said pass-through charges for generation and transmission are paid to power suppliers and the grid operator, respectively. Taxes, universal charges and feed-in tariff allowance are all remitted to the government.
Meralco said its distribution charge has remained unchanged since a P0.0360 per kilowatt-hour reduction for a typical residential customer began in August 2022.
It said customers also continue to benefit from an ongoing distribution-related true-up adjustment, equivalent to a reduction of P0.2024 per kilowatt-hour for residential customers.
