In many areas nationwide, citizens express audible complaints when their electricity bills arrived this August. The Philippine Statistics Authority confirmed that the hike in electricity bills is the biggest factor in the acceleration of inflation. Apart from Meralco, local electricity companies also raised their rates in July.

It can be recalled that the Energy Regulatory Board prevented a one-time increase in the companies’ charges in May and ordered them to make “staggered” increases. Most companies already imposed up to ₱4/kwh on consumers in May. Due to this order, rates appeared to have gone down in June, but was quickly recovered in July, to be followed by additional increases in August and September.

The companies claimed the increase as necessary to cover higher energy rates imposed by energy producers at WESM. Energy price manipulation has been going on in WESM for a long time, since the distributors are themselves also the producers, like Meralco.

In Luzon, Meralco already imposed an additional charge of ₱2.14/kwh in July. From ₱9.45, rates surged to ₱11.60/kwh. Rates will again increase in August and September by ₱0.77. This increase covers 39 cities and 72 municipalities in the National Capital Region (Metro Manila), Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Pampanga.

Electricity rates in Albay also increased from ₱8.46 to ₱11.19 in July.

Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. also raised its rates to ₱2.9601/kwh in July after it lowered charges to ₱2.82/kwh in June, reverting the city’s rate to ₱10.90/kwh. This means ₱592.02 increased expenditure for families that consume 200/kwh per month. The bill will increase again in August by ₱2.96/kwh and at an amount yet to be announced in September.

In Metro Cebu, Visayan Electric raised the charge by 37%, from ₱9.71/kwh in June to ₱13.27/kwh in July. This is an additional ₱712 for customers who consume 200 kwh per month. The company will raise charges again in September.

In Baguio City, the ₱10.33/kwh in June is expected to increase to ₱11.50 in August.

In Iloilo City (MORE Power), the bill increased from ₱7.55/kwh to ₱11.13/kwh in July and it will increase again in August to ₱14.0911/kwh.

Charges are highest on Negros island. In Northern Negros, the Northern Negros Electric Cooperative (NONECO) raised the price of electricity to a staggering ₱6.56/kwh, resulting in an increase in the bill from ₱9.23 in June to ₱15.79 in July. (In June, the ERC ordered NONECO to lower its excessive charge of ₱17.26/kwh.)

In Central Negros, rates are now at ₱13.34/kwh, from ₱12.76/kwh in June. Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) raised its charge by ₱1.31/kwh, from ₱14.80/kwh in June to ₱16.11 in July.

In Leyte, the bill increased from ₱11.95 in May to ₱12.50 in July. In Cagayan de Oro, the bill did not increase in July, but it will increase by ₱.50/kwh in August.