Philippines logs highest power rate in Southeast Asia

CEBU, Philippines — The Philippines recorded the highest average residential electricity rate among ASEAN countries in June 2026, driven largely by supply constraints in the Visayas and the increased use of more expensive power plants during the summer.

This is according to Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, supervising undersecretary for the Power and Renewable Energy Bureaus.

In a virtual press conference, she explained that, based on the department's monthly monitoring, the country's nationwide average residential electricity rate reached P12.43 per kilowatt-hour, slightly higher than Singapore's average rate, which was lower by about P0.093 per kilowatt-hour.

She stressed that the comparison covers June 2026 only, noting that the DOE updates the regional comparison every month.

“We check that every month," she said, adding that the comparison for July will be available by July 26.

She attributed the high electricity rates primarily to the situation in the Visayas, where electricity prices remain the highest due to insufficient power supply.

According to Guevara, around 21 power plants in the Visayas are under forced outage, making the region heavily dependent on electricity imports from Luzon and Mindanao.

She also noted that the Visayas grid has been placed under yellow alert several times since May due to thin operating reserves.

She added that higher electricity demand during the summer months also forced grid operators to dispatch more expensive generating plants to prevent power interruptions.

“Instead of experiencing blackouts, we operate the more expensive power plants," she said.

Despite the higher rates, she said the government's Task Force 200 has helped improve the situation by accelerating the integration of renewable energy projects into the grid.

She credited the growing number of renewable energy facilities entering the system as one of the measures helping strengthen the country's power supply.

Guevara said the DOE is working with regulators and the power industry to help keep electricity rates in check, particularly in areas served by electric cooperatives, where power rates have reached as high as P16 per kilowatt-hour.

Responding to concerns about high electricity costs, Guevara said the agency is coordinating with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ensure that electricity rates charged by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives remain reasonable.

She added that the DOE continues to encourage distribution utilities to dispatch lower-cost power plants first before resorting to more expensive generators.

Guevara, however, said it remains difficult to forecast electricity rates for August because these will largely depend on movements in global fuel prices.

DOE Secretary Sharon Garin recalled that when tensions in the Middle East triggered a surge in fuel prices, the DOE, the ERC, and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) implemented temporary market interventions to cushion the impact on consumers.

According to Garin, the measures prevented a much steeper increase in electricity prices.

“When the crisis happened, instead of electricity rates increasing by around P7 to P12 per kilowatt-hour, the increase was limited to about P2,” she said.

She explained that this was achieved by prioritizing lower-cost electricity sources over more expensive fuel-based generation, such as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel-fired power plants.

Garin said the DOE continues to coordinate with the ERC and power market operators to manage the impact of rising fuel prices on electricity rates.

She also emphasized that consumers can help limit increases in power rates through energy conservation.

“If we consume less electricity, power providers will not be forced to dispatch the more expensive generating plants,” Garin said.

She urged households to practice demand-side management, saying that even small actions, such as switching off an unused light bulb, can collectively reduce electricity demand and help temper power prices.

Garin also clarified that oil accounts for only about 3 percent of the country's electricity generation mix.

However, she noted that higher oil prices still indirectly affect electricity costs because they increase transportation and other operating expenses associated with delivering fuels such as coal to power plants.

“So let’s conserve energy. Hopefully, we can temper the increases in electricity rates,” Garin further said. — (FREEMAN)