Manila: Manila Electric Company (Meralco) customers will see a slight relief in their electricity bills this month as rates will drop by PHP0.0428 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for the August 2026 billing cycle.

According to Philippines News Agency, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga mentioned in a briefing that the August rate reduction would have reached around PHP0.5861/kWh if not for higher National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) ancillary services charges from the Reserve Market. Other factors that reduced consumer savings include an Energy Regulation Commission-approved PHP0.1348/kWh hike in the green energy subsidy, and a PHP0.04/kWh rate increase from Meralco power supplier First Gas/Prime CoreGen, which had to use more expensive alternative fuel due to the Malampaya gas shutdown.

Meralco Vice President and head of Utility Economics Lawrence Fernandez highlighted that First Gas/Prime CoreGen provided around one-fifth of Meralco's supply. "As a group, they're the highest cost source of supply of Meralco and their charges to Meralco increased by around PHP0.8/kWh. But this was offset by charges, lower charges from the spot market of around PHP0.55," Fernandez said in the same briefing.

Meanwhile, Zaldarriaga also addressed the impact of recent bad weather, noting that their line personnel have been working 24/7 to repair power lines damaged by the habagat, which affected around 198,000 customers mostly in Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan, and Metro Manila. He reported that the number of customers experiencing power outages has dropped to around 38,000, expressing hope that electricity will be fully restored once floodwaters subside. "We are not stopping. They are working, sometimes on double shifts. At the end of the day, we just want to restore power as soon as possible," he added.