PH electricity rates rank highest in Southeast Asia in June: DOE

The country recorded the highest electricity rate in Southeast Asia this June, according to the Department of Energy. 

The agency disclosed on June 20, that the country's average nationwide electricity rate reached P12.43 per kWh in June. This is higher than the average rate of P12.337 per kWh recorded by Singapore, making the Philippines top the region's power rates. 

DOE Undersecretary Rowena Guevara told reporters during the Monday press conference that the high rates are largely driven by supply shortages in the Visayas, which has remained under yellow alert since May.

"May kakulangan talaga tayo ng supply doon. Meron tayong 21 power plants on forced outage. Therefore, dependent talaga siya sa Luzon at Mindanao for imported power," she said. 

She added that the summer months saw high power demands, leading to the operation of more costly power plants. 

Meanwhile, DOE data also showed that among the country’s off-grid distribution utilities, Southern Leyte Electric Cooperative, Inc. had the highest residential electricity rate at P16.57 per kWh in June, followed by Northern Samar Electric Cooperative, Inc. with P15.72 per kWh, and Kalinga-Apayao Electric Cooperative, Inc. at P14.53 per kWh.

For MERALCO consumers, the residential electricity rate for households consuming 200 kWh is posted at P14.48 per kWh due to higher generation charges driven by Western market prices. 

Guevara said electricity rates may increase further next month amid rising fuel prices due to renewed tensions in the Middle East.

“Depending on the price increase of fuel in the next few weeks, we might see a price increase in the price of electricity. Similar to what happened in the past, we will be encouraging our distribution utilities to first use the cheaper fuel before using the more expensive fuel. Of course, we also encourage the public to please conserve energy so we don’t have to run the higher pricing power plants," she said.