Power firms set to recover P31 billion from Meralco customers – ERC

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December 13, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Power generation companies want to recover around P30.96 billion from Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) customers for costs they incurred during their supply deals, according to the Energy Regulatory Commission.

ERC chairperson and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan told reporters yesterday the rulings for the motions for price adjustments filed by ACEN Corp. and the San Miguel Group are expected to be issued next year.

The cost recovery includes P29.21 billion for San Miguel units South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC) and Sual Power Inc. (SPI), alongside a P1.75-billion claim by ACEN.

Citing change in circumstances, the companies asked the regulator to recover these amounts to offset the losses they suffered from fuel price spikes during the height of the Russia-Ukraine war and the pandemic.

“So our target now is to ensure that the recovery of these amounts will not impact so much the electricity consumers,” Juan said.

Asked about the timeline for the cost recovery, the ERC chief said the commission has yet to decide on a course of action that would balance the interests of both consumers and the petitioning companies.

“We are still deciding on the length of the recovery period so that we can somewhat mitigate the rate impact on the consumers,” Juan said.

In May 2022, SPPC and SPI filed joint motions with Meralco seeking ERC approval to temporarily increase the contract price under their respective power supply agreements (PSAs).

The regulator, however, denied the foregoing joint motions, which prompted SPPC to ask the Court of Appeals (CA) to issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of preliminary injunction to annul, reverse and set aside the ERC order.

The CA granted SPPC’s application for an issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction, with the ERC then asking the SC to nullify the CA’s injunction on the PSAs of the concerned energy firms.

Last year, the Supreme Court junked with finality the ERC’s appeal against the termination of the supply contracts between Meralco and the San Miguel units.