Electrifying sensationalism and Akbayan sa ingay

This month showed lots of electrifying rate increases in the Visayas grid which has experienced yellow alerts almost daily for the past three weeks. I checked electricity prices of distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) there. Below, all prices in pesos per kwh this year.

Negros Power, Bacolod City – from P11.38 in May to P13.84 in June, an increase of P2.46.

MORE Power, Iloilo City – P11.87 in May to P13.87 in June, an increase of P2.

VECO, Cebu City – no announcement yet for June but it was P12.88 in May, likely around P2 increase in June too.

Southern Leyte EC (SOLECO) – from P12.53 in May to P16.57 in June, or P4.04 increase.

In Meralco area, from P14.33 in May to P14.48 in June, or a P0.15 increase.

The reasons for high rate increases in the Visayas grid are: one, higher Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) prices – P4.48 in April to P10.20 in May (reflected in June billing), more than double due to power supply shortage as several big power plants have extended maintenance shutdown while demand remained high. And two, higher cost from power suppliers, the cost of coal, gas and oil have increased. Solar-wind cannot produce or store electricity when the sun is not shining (evening, daytime but thick clouds or raining), or when the wind is not blowing.

Meanwhile, some developments in some Philippines energy stakeholders.

Department of Energy (DOE) sets final consultation on Semirara coal mine bid, submission of bids in two months. The contract will be for 25 years.

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) celebrated its 25th anniversary and posted 10-month gains in regulatory reforms. Chairperson and CEO Francis Saturnino Juan emphasized that: “Our mission is straightforward: to regulate the power industry in a way that is effective, efficient, and prioritizes the welfare of consumers.” ERC has addressed  decade-long delay in the rate reset process for private distribution utilities through the Rationalized Rules for Setting Distribution Wheeling Rates (RRDWR).

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) announced that overall transmission rates declined from P1.60/kWh in April to P1.45/kWh in May, or a P0.15 decrease. NGCP transmission wheeling rates declined from P0.60 in April to P0.56 in May, while ancillary services (AS) rates decreased from P0.81 in April to P0.72 in May. Wheeling rates directly go to NGCP while AS rates go to AS providers (peaking plants, battery) with bilateral contracts with NGCP to stabilize the grid during power supply-demand imbalances.

Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) announced the appointment of Arnel Santos from SVP - COO to become president and CEO of MGEN Thermal Energy Inc. starting July 1, 2026.

Felino “Lino” Bernardo, who is the current president and CEO of MGEN Thermal, will do bigger tasks as head of Strategic Energy Transition, to advance the company’s long-term growth and transition agenda. He will lead the company’s strategic development and management of power generation project pipeline – from project identification, feasibility studies, execution strategies, growth initiatives across key developments such as Atimonan One Energy, expansion project in Cebu, and nuclear energy development studies.

MGEN president and CEO Manny Rubio said that the leadership transition is meant to “position us strongly for both today’s operational priorities and tomorrow’s growth opportunities, shape the future of our portfolio and the country’s energy sector.”

Akbayan sa ingay

Recently the Akbayan Party List made lots of political and legislative noise that targeted Meralco for its “high electricity bills,” “recurring bill shocks,”  “families receiving electric bills that have doubled,” “questionable charges,” “impose extra charges to ordinary consumers,” etc.

The Akbayan Reform Bloc is composed of their three party-list representatives Chel Diokno, Percival Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula, plus Dinagat Lone District Rep. Kaka Bag-ao. This bloc is also supported by NGOs like Small Entrepreneur for Livelihood Development Association (SELDA), Sentro ng Nagkakaisang Progresibong Manggagawa (SENTRO) and Akbayan Green Working Group.

Their legislators filed House Resolution (HR) 995 calling for an investigation into the “mounting charges in Meralco electricity bills,” House Bill 9134 seeking to remove the VAT on system loss charge and HR 875 calling for an urgent review of the Philippine Energy Plan.

Go back to the top of this paper, electricity rate increases from May to June 2026 in pesos per kwh: Meralco P0.15, MORE Power P2, VECO likely P2 too, Negros Power P2.46 and SOLECO, P4.04.

In addition, there are almost daily announcements of rotating blackouts in almost all DUs and ECs in the Visayas grid -- Cebu, Bohol, Negros Occidental and Oriental, Panay (Iloilo, Capiz, Aklan, Antique), Guimaras. They get a bad combination of higher electricity rates plus frequent power fluctuations, if not blackouts.

Why is Akbayan silent on those issues and places? Meralco rate increase of only P0.15 plus no blackout or power fluctuations. Its generation charge is high because it has redundancies in power supply contracts to avoid blackout.

The most expensive electricity is no electricity. A P15/kwh but available electricity is cheaper than P1/kwh but electricity is absent. When there is blackout, the poor use candles that can cause fires, the rich use gensets on diesel that are noisy, more expensive, more polluting.

The real reason why Akbayan and their allies single out Meralco is because Akbayan seeks to keep their three PL seats in the 2028 elections. Attack a big corporation despite its low rate increase and no blackout, to make themselves look “heroic.” Then be silent on so many other DUs and ECs with higher rate increases and frequent power disruption.

This is double talk and hypocrisy by Akbayan and their NGO allies. The voters should investigate Akbayan why they persist on high profile hypocrisy, in aid of their re-election in 2028.