The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) approved five power supply agreements for Manila Electric Co. involving P31.341 billion in total cost recovery, an amount equivalent to P0.2817 per kilowatt-hour that will appear on customer bills starting March 2026.
The contracts involve change in circumstance applications from South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), San Miguel Energy Corp. (SMEC), ACEN Corp. and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC).
“Despite the P0.28 per kWh rate impact, which we achieved by stretching the recovery periods for all these adjustments, we are still anticipating that the overall net effect on Meralco’s rates of the CIC adjustments will be minimal or none at all,” ERC chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan said.
Meralco has implemented a similar rate adjustment averaging P0.28 per kWh monthly since September 2025 which is scheduled to continue through February 2026.
“That is why we directed the implementation of the remaining CIC adjustments starting in March 2026 only so as to mitigate any impact on the overall rates of Meralco,” Juan said.
The regulator allowed SPPC to recover P15.85 billion from Meralco. The commission authorized Meralco to collect P0.1246 per kWh from customers over 36 months starting in March 2026 until the total amount is paid.
The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision in favor of SPPC and SMEC and a Court of Appeals declaration that the price adjustments were executory.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the extraordinary surge in fuel costs during 2022, triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war and an Indonesian coal export ban, constituted a change in circumstance. These events warranted price adjustments for the San Miguel Corp units.
The commission also allowed SMEC to recover P13.362 billion, translated to P0.1051 per kWh over 36 months. Ayala-led ACEN received approval to recover P1.75 billion or P0.0427 per kWh over 12 months, while the parties were also granted permission to terminate the power supply agreement.
PEDC was also authorized to recover P380 million from Meralco. The recovery is equivalent to P0.0093 per kWh and will be collected over a 12-month period beginning with the March 2026 billing cycle.
