Outgoing ERC chief: Ample room to lower power bills
Outgoing Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) chair Monalisa Dimalanta sees more space to cut power rates in the country. She said Friday that generation charges have been on a downtrend under her leadership.
“There’s still ample room to bring rates down, provided everyone stays disciplined within their respective mandates,” Dimalanta told reporters in a media briefing.
She said this when asked if Filipino consumers could still enjoy cheaper electricity bills, even if she would leave certain initiatives unfinished.
One initiative the ERC launched was to probe the fuel audit of electric cooperatives and distribution utilities.
This had prompted the agency to issue show-cause orders against 37 generation firms in May. This was over the alleged lack of fuel data that could justify the fairness of charges being passed on to consumers.
“Once the Commission clears this up, it should be refunded. They shouldn’t have charged it in the first place. This is one opportunity to bring rates down,” she said.
The ERC chief said that since January 2023, generation charges at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) have been declining.
This “significant lowering of rates,” she said, was observed in most regions in the Philippines.
Latest available data from the ERC showed that between January 2023 and May 2025, the average generation cost had been slashed by P2.40 per kilowatt hour.
“I think that alone is a good sign. But that’s not just the ERC’s job; it involves the entire energy sector. And also, improved market conditions,” she said.
Ending her stint at the ERC by Aug. 8, Dimalanta said that aside from lowering generation rates, pushing for the implementation and expansion of the retail aggregation program (RAP) is part of her legacy.
Under the RAP, customers can choose their electricity providers as well as shift to renewable energy sources. Multiple consumers sharing a common area can also pool their demand to hit the 500-kiloWatt threshold.
Aside from big companies in the sectors of academe, telecommunications, water, among others, Dimalanta is hopeful RAP will reach the residential market — like subdivisions and housing communities.
“The Epira (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) mandated that this happens, that this power to choose should be realized. It’s not an option whether we choose to go that way or not, it’s our mandate,” Dimalanta said.
Dimalanta will be replaced by lawyer Francisco Saturnino Juan, who also has extensive experience in the energy sector.
