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The facade entrance of National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) along Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City taken on Novenmber 10, 2023.
PNA photo by Ben Briones
MANILA, Philippines — The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said it only takes a small cut — or 2.98% — of one’s electricity bill, collecting the cost of delivering power from generators to distributors.
Despite being privatized, the NGCP says it now collects lower transmission charges than when the grid was still government-run, based on an infographic released on June 30.
According to the grid operator, the average transmission wheeling rate stood at P0.52 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in April 2025. This is around 30% lower than the P0.74 per kWh collected prior to privatization.
The overall transmission, however, accounts for 8.39% of a household’s electricity bill, which includes 5.41% for ancillary services and other pass-through costs remitted directly to generation companies.
Households instead spend the most on power generation and distribution, not on NGCP’s transmission charges.
Generation charges account for 50.21% of a typical electricity bill, while distribution makes up 21.98%. Meanwhile, NGCP’s transmission wheeling rate comprises just 2.98%.
If a household pays P3,000 for a month’s electricity, only around P89 goes to NGCP for transmission. Ancillary services, which make up another 5.41%, would cost about P162. Combined, transmission and ancillary services total roughly P251.
In comparison, generation charges would amount to P1,506, while distribution charges would reach P659.
The remaining 19.42% of the bill would cover taxes, system loss, universal charge and subsidies.
Since taking over the national transmission system in 2009, NGCP said power outages and interruptions have dropped by 84.57%.
Over the span of 15 years, it said it has grown substation capacity to 40,495 megavolt-amperes (MVA), stretched transmission lines to 5,475 circuit kilometers (ckm) and almost doubled how much power the grid can handle to 24,537 megawatts (MW).
The NGCP was established in January 2009 through Republic Act 9511, which granted the firm a franchise to operate, manage and maintain the country’s power transmission grid.
One of NGCP’s key responsibilities is to balance power supply and demand by ensuring the stable and reliable transmission of electricity in different regions.
However, the grid operator has also faced criticism and challenges to its franchise renewal over reported delays in transmission projects and concerns about foreign ownership.
NGCP, however, has since denied allegations of Chinese ownership and control, saying its executives and managers are Filipinos.
In May, regulators gave the green light to two big-ticket transmission projects worth P32 billion: the P18.8-billion Western Luzon 500-kV line and the P13.2-billion Nagsaag-Santiago 500-kV route.
NGCP has also assured the public that the national transmission network now has a capacity exceeding 10,000 MW, largely driven by the addition of new power plants in Luzon.
