Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is seeking regulatory approval to return another P2.64 billion to more than eight million customers, potentially providing additional relief on electricity bills after excess distribution charges were collected during the first half of 2026.
The proposed refund covers the January-to-June 2026 lapsed period, when the utility’s actual weighted average tariff reached P1.5537 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared with the final approved distribution rate of P1.3522 per kWh. The difference forms the basis of the latest true-up calculation.
Meralco is proposing an average refund of P0.0487 per kWh across customer classes for 12 months, or until the full P2.64-billion amount has been returned. For residential customers, the proposed refund rate is higher at P0.0828 per kWh.
For a household consuming 200 kWh per month, the residential refund would translate to roughly P16.56 in monthly savings. If approved, the credit would appear as a separate line item on customers’ electricity bills throughout the refund period.
The proposed refund follows other large-scale adjustments stemming from Meralco’s regulatory true-up process. In August, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered the utility to refund about P9.51 billion related to excess distribution charges from January to December 2025, with the refund being implemented at different rates depending on customer class.
Meralco is also implementing a separate refund involving an earlier regulatory period. In April, the ERC ordered the company to return the remaining P14.17 billion from the July 2022-to-December 2024 true-up, with the amount to be refunded over 12 months.
The latest P2.64-billion application still requires ERC approval before the proposed refund can take effect. Meralco has also requested provisional authority so customers could begin receiving the benefit while the regulator completes its review.
The multiple refund orders are part of the regulator’s true-up mechanism, which compares the distribution charges actually collected with the amounts a utility was authorized to recover. The process is intended to reconcile differences arising during periods when regulatory rate adjustments were not yet finalized.
If approved, the new refund would give millions of Meralco customers another reduction on their electricity charges, adding to the refunds already being credited from previous regulatory periods.
