Jan. transmission rates down as power reserve costs decline

TRANSMISSION RATES in the January electricity bill are set to fall due to the lower cost of power reserves used to maintain reliable operations, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said.

In a briefing on Tuesday, Julius Ryan D. Datingaling, NGCP head of business and regulatory development, said overall transmission rates declined 0.68% month on month to P1.3455 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

“The downward movement is generally due to the decrease in AS (ancillary services) costs,” he said.

AS costs, or power reserves tapped by grid operators to maintain reliable operations, declined to P0.5971 per kWh from P0.6217 per kWh a month earlier.

Citing the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Mr. Datingaling said increased supply on the reserve market prompted the decline in AS prices.

Transmission wheeling rates, on the other hand, decreased to P0.6058 per kWh from P0.5894 per kWh previously. This reflects the cost of delivering electricity from power generators to the distribution system.

Other charges, which include universal charge, feed-in tariff allowance, and value-added tax on transmission and AS charges, fell to P0.1426 per kWh from P0.1436 previously.

Rates declined by 1.67% in Luzon, 0.99% in the Visayas, and 2% in Mindanao.

The transmission rate is billed to end-users through distribution utilities and electric cooperatives.

“For the January 2026 electric bill of end consumers, NGCP charges only 60 centavos per kWh for the delivery of its services,” the NGCP said, adding that its revenue is capped and regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera