DOE praises MORE Power, city’s consumer-first power policies

Energy Secretary Sharon Garin has cited Iloilo City’s proactive power policies, pointing to the city’s 14% increase in electricity demand in 2025, a pace she said was well ahead of the national average.

Garin said the growth was driven by programs led by Mayor Raisa Treñas in collaboration with MORE Electric and Power Corp., also known as MORE Power.

She said the increase signaled gains not only in business activity, but also in household purchasing power, as more consumers are now able to buy additional electrical appliances that help push electricity demand higher.

The Department of Energy and the Energy Regulatory Commission recently visited Iloilo City to promote the Expanded Lifeline Rate Program.

Even before that visit, however, the Iloilo City Government and MORE Power had already been implementing the original Lifeline Rate Program since its launch in July 2023, putting the city ahead of many other localities in rolling out the subsidy.

Today, Iloilo City has 6,310 Lifeline Program beneficiaries.

Of that total, 4,360 beneficiaries come from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps.

The remaining beneficiaries come from indigent communities or marginalized residents.

“I have to say ang mga policies sang LGU together sang MORE is one of the best ones in the country nga ginacopy ina namon ang programa diri sa Iloilo City,” says Sec. Garin.

Under the expanded program, 4Ps households consuming 50 kWh or less per month receive a 100% discount through automatic enrollment.

The Lifeline Rate Program is intended to reduce electricity costs for low-income consumers, and the expanded version broadens access to those subsidies for qualified households.

Beyond the lifeline subsidy, the ERC also commended MORE Power for its Bill Deposit Refund initiative.

As of the latest figures, MORE Power has refunded PHP 9.2 million in bill deposits to 1,421 consumer accounts.

Those refunds were issued to customers who paid their bills on time for 36 consecutive months.

The refund policy follows the Magna Carta for Residential Electricity Consumers, which requires distribution utilities to return bill deposits after that period of consistent payments.

MORE Power said it does not simply wait for consumers to file claims for refunds.

Instead, the company proactively informs eligible consumers through their bills, text messages, email, and phone calls.

Eligible consumers are then encouraged to visit the office and receive their refund either by check or through bill credit.

The ERC said it saw MORE Power’s Bill Deposit Refund program firsthand during its visit to Iloilo City.

That experience prompted the agency to highlight the Magna Carta provision and encourage distribution utilities across the country to extend the same benefit to qualified consumers.

Taken together, the Lifeline Rate rollout and the bill deposit refund program show how local government and the distribution utility have paired social protection with consumer service reforms as electricity demand continues to rise in Iloilo City.