Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the Philippines’ largest power retailer, signaled that higher electricity rates are likely for November bills on rising pass-through charges, led by increases in the spot market prices and the continued depreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar.
Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) approval of a higher feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All) could contribute an additional P0.0884 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to the rates this month.
Another significant factor is the higher prices reported by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). Zaldarriaga noted that IEMOP announced higher WESM and reserve market prices in the previous supply month, adding to “upward pressure both in the generation and transmission charges.”
WESM rates in the Luzon grid spiked 54.3 percent, or by P1.39 per kWh to P3.96 per kWh in October from P2.57 per kWh the previous month. This surge occurred as Luzon demand grew 1.9 percent to 9,777 megawatts (MW) while supply declined 6.1 percent to 13,790 MW.
Zaldarriago also pointed to the depreciation of the peso to historic lows as a factor, which is expected to affect dollar-denominated costs from independent power producers and power supply agreements. The peso closed at 59.04 against the greenback on Nov. 7, 2025.
Meralco, which serves over 8.2 million customers in its franchise area, said it is finalizing the rate and plans to announce the actual movement later this week.
Meralco announced in October a P0.2331-per-kWh increase, driven by higher generation charges. This brought the overall rate for a typical household to P13.3182 per kWh last month from P13.0851 per kWh in September.
Meralco’s October generation charge went up by P0.1903 per kWh, largely due to the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar, with the local currency weakening to P58.13 from P57.13 previously.
