Electricity rates more costly in Visayas, Mindanao areas

TAGBILARAN CITY—Power supply across the Philippine electricity grid improved in December 2025, but tighter conditions in the Visayas and Mindanao led to higher electricity prices, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said.

The group reported that average system-wide supply rose to 20,233 megawatts (MW) in December, up 1.2 percent from November, while electricity demand declined by 0.5 percent to 13,440 MW.

The improved balance widened the overall system supply margin to 4,798 MW from 4,572 MW a month earlier.

IEMOP, an independent organization that runs and manages the country’s electricity trading market, said that despite the favorable national outlook, regional conditions diverged.

Supply margins in the Visayas and Mindanao fell by 136 MW and 245 MW, respectively, largely due to planned and forced outages of generating plants.

These constraints, together with transmission limitations that restricted access to lower-cost Luzon power, pushed the system-wide average energy price to P4.38 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), from P3.98/kWh in November.

Good news for Luzon

Luzon continued to post improving conditions, with rising supply and declining demand leading to a lower average market price of P2.98/kWh, down from P3.52/kWh in the previous billing month.

See Also

BIR almost done with proposed reforms in tax audit process

In contrast, operating conditions tightened in the Visayas and Mindanao.

In the Visayas, supply increased by 106 MW, but demand grew faster at 181 MW, resulting in a reduced supply margin. Mindanao saw a 245-MW drop in supply alongside a 25-MW increase in demand.

IEMOP said the Visayas grid normally benefits from power imports from Luzon via the Leyte–Luzon high-voltage direct current interconnection.