THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to return the remaining balance of P14.17 billion to its consumers.
This order follows the completion of the regulatory review for distribution charges implemented from July 2022 to December 2024. The decision is based on the “true-up” mechanism, which compares the approved rates against the Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT) computed using the utility’s actual revenues and sales.
ERC Chairperson and CEO Atty. Francis Saturnino Juan emphasized that the agency’s primary mandate is to protect consumers while maintaining a stable regulatory environment. “By expediting the refund, we are providing more immediate relief to Meralco consumers, particularly in the face of rising electricity costs,” Juan stated. He explained that this mechanism ensures that customers are charged fairly—paying neither more nor less than what is legally permitted under existing regulations.
To accelerate the benefits for the public, the ERC ordered the remaining amount to be refunded over a shorter period of 12 months instead of the original schedule of 36 months. This adjustment significantly increases the refund rate to P0.2511 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The amount will appear as a separate line item labeled “AWAT (Refund)/Collect” in customers’ monthly bills, making the deduction easily visible.
This move is expected to provide substantial relief, especially amid rising generation costs influenced by global factors such as the situation in the Middle East. Residential customers, in particular, will benefit the most as they are assigned the highest refund rate. The ERC stressed that this decision ensures that any over-collection is promptly returned to the public, effectively lowering power bills for the next year.
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