MANILA, Philippines — The Senate energy committee yesterday grilled the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for its failure to control the soaring electricity prices in the country, which reportedly surpassed that of Singapore in Southeast Asia.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo led the hearing as panel chair and criticized the ERC for being “inutile” in controlling the cost of electricity.
The DOE earlier reported that the Philippines had the highest electricity rate in Southeast Asia last month, or an average electricity rate of P12.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), surpassing Singapore by less than a centavo.
Tulfo said the consuming public is “at the mercy of the power generators and distributors” because of “pass-on” systems loss and other charges.
ERC president Francis Saturnino Juan explained that the commission is only mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to regulate transmission and distribution sectors, not generation and supply.
Transmission and distribution only accounts for 20 to 22 percent of the total electricity bill.
Juan said the latest spike in electricity bill is due to the “pass-through charges” from the rising costs of power generation inputs like oil and liquefied natural gas.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian sat in the hearing and criticized the ERC for its failure to audit the price shock.
He showed a chart showing the “slowly creeping” increase in electricity cost, up by over two centavos per kWh between January 2025 and June 2026.
“For a family consuming 200 kilowatt-hours in January of 2025, they only paid P11 and 74 centavos per kilowatt. Now, they pay P14,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian urged the ERC to audit the price increases to put a check on the soaring electricity costs.