POWER distribution utility Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is set to roll out a ₱9.5-billion refund to its consumers following a directive from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
The refund will be implemented over a six-month period, offering financial relief directly on monthly electricity bills.
Under the ERC-approved schedule, customers will see an average rate reduction of ₱0.34 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
Residential consumers will benefit the most, receiving a higher refund rate of approximately ₱0.59 per kWh.
To ensure transparency, the refunded amount will appear as a separate line item on billing statements.
The relief stems from two separate applications filed by Meralco covering the periods from January to June 2025 and July to December 2025.
The adjustment accounts for the variance between Meralco’s Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT) and its approved distribution tariff.
During these periods, residential electricity consumption surged compared to other customer classes, pushing the AWAT above the approved rate.
This adjustment is part of the ERC’s standard regulatory true-up mechanism. Designed to ensure fairness, the process requires distribution utilities to return any excess tariff collected due to consumption shifts.
Depending on sales mix and load profiles, the mechanism can result in either a refund or a collection across all private utilities in the country.
“Meralco supports the initiatives of the government to provide relief to consumers and ensure that they benefit from any approved refund as quickly and transparently as possible,” the company stated, confirming full compliance with the regulator’s ruling.
This initiative follows previous refund cycles implemented by Meralco.
The utility previously returned ₱0.5 billion to consumers for the July 2015 to June 2022 period, alongside an ongoing ₱20-billion refund initiated in April 2025 for tariffs collected between July 2022 and December 2024.
With the latest ERC ruling finalized, Meralco residential customers can expect immediate rate relief on their upcoming billing statements over the next six months, while similar tariff applications from other distribution utilities remain pending before the regulatory body.
