Higher Meralco rates loom this month

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January 9, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Over eight million customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) may see higher power rates this month due to peso depreciation and a new pass-through charge supporting renewable energy.

Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said initial indications point to a potential “minimal movement” in electricity rates for January.

“There is an upward pressure in the generation charge primarily due to the weakening of the peso against the US dollar, which affects a significant portion of power supply costs that are dollar-denominated,” Zaldarriaga said in a statement yesterday.

The local currency closed at P58.79 against the greenback on Dec. 29, weaker than the P58.645 finish on Nov. 28.

“We hope this will be mitigated or offset by lower WESM (Wholesale Electricity Spot Market) prices during the December supply month,” Zaldarriaga said.

In Luzon, WESM prices declined by 15.4 percent to P2.98 per kiloWatt-hour in December from the previous month’s P3.52 per kWh, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines reported.

The generation charge, which accounts for more than half of the electricity bills, covers the cost of power procured by Meralco from WESM and other power suppliers.

According to Zaldarriaga, another factor likely to affect the January power rate is the collection of the green energy auction allowance (GEA-All), following its approval by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

“This is equivalent to an additional P0.0371 per kWh that will appear as a separate line item in customers’ bills beginning this month,” the Meralco official said.

GEA-All will support various renewable energy projects, including hydro, biomass, ground-mounted, roof-mounted and floating solar, that were awarded under the government’s GEA program.

This comes on top of the existing feed-in tariff allowance, a uniform charge imposed on all on-grid consumers for the power generation of eligible renewable power sources like solar, wind and small hydro plants.

“We remain optimistic that the decrease in demand and consumption of customers will help manage the electricity bills this January,” Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco is currently awaiting final bills from its power suppliers.

The January rate is expected to be confirmed over the weekend, with the official announcement likely coming next week.