Despite a temporary increase in electricity rates in June brought about by rising generation costs, MORE Power continues to maintain one of the country’s lowest residential electricity rates, with all of its published rates remaining tax-inclusive.
The Iloilo distribution utility said that from January to May 2026, it consistently recorded the lowest residential electricity rates among distribution utilities in the country. Unlike many electric utilities that publish tax-exclusive rates, MORE Power said its rates have always been tax-inclusive since it began operations in Iloilo City, ensuring consumers are fully aware of the actual amount they pay.
For June, the company’s residential electricity rate increased to ₱13.91 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up by ₱2.04/kWh from May. However, MORE Power emphasized that the increase was driven by higher generation and transmission costs, not by its own distribution charges.
According to the company, repeated yellow and red alerts declared by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) due to insufficient power supply in the Visayas resulted in higher electricity prices, particularly in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
During the June billing period, MORE Power sourced 62 percent of its electricity requirements from bilateral power supply agreements, while the remaining 38 percent came from WESM. Spot market prices more than doubled, rising from ₱4.45/kWh to ₱10.30/kWh, causing the generation charge to increase by ₱2.10/kWh to ₱7.735/kWh.
Despite the spike in generation costs, MORE Power said its distribution charge remained unchanged at an average of ₱1.85/kWh, a rate it has maintained for more than three years.
To help ease the impact on consumers, the company also postponed the implementation of staggered payments to power suppliers for June. This measure was intended to prevent overlapping charges in the coming months, while ensuring that the increase in electricity costs would go directly to power suppliers without additional charges being passed on through the distribution utility.
NGCP earlier reported that supply in the Visayas grid remained tight due to multiple power plant outages. As of July 10, 15 power plants were on forced outage, while 11 others were operating at reduced capacity, resulting in approximately 1,031 megawatts (MW) of unavailable generating capacity.
Transmission constraints along the Leyte-Cebu interconnection have also limited the amount of electricity that can be transferred from Luzon to the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid, further reducing available supply in the region.
Given these conditions, MORE Power said the increase in June electricity rates reflected higher generation and transmission costs beyond the control of distribution utilities. The company reiterated that its own distribution charge has remained unchanged, allowing Iloilo consumers to continue benefiting from one of the country’s lowest tax-inclusive electricity rates.
