NGCP Cuts May Power Transmission Rates by 28%

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) has significantly reduced transmission charges in consumers’ May 2025 electric bills, lowering costs amid ongoing efforts to ensure grid stability and affordability.

In its latest advisory, NGCP announced that the overall equivalent average transmission rate for the April billing period fell by 28.45 percent to PHP 1.0904 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), down from PHP 1.5240/kWh in March.

This drop is attributed to two key components: a 16.35 percent cut in wheeling charges, which fell to PHP 0.4605/kWh from PHP 0.5505/kWh, and a 36.07 percent decrease in Ancillary Services (AS) rates, which dropped to PHP 0.5175/kWh from PHP 0.8094/kWh.

“For the May 2025 electric bill of the end consumers, NGCP charges only 46 centavos per kWh for the delivery of its services,” the company said in a statement.

Ancillary services—specialized grid support tools that help balance electricity supply and demand—remain the largest portion of transmission charges, the NGCP noted.

These services include reserves and grid stabilization mechanisms that ensure reliability during fluctuations, outages, or unexpected spikes in demand.

NGCP clarified that these AS-related charges are passed directly to generation companies and the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), and that NGCP does not profit from them.

The reduced rates are particularly relevant in the Visayas region, where April 2025 bills include the fourth installment of deferred AS payments from the March 2024 Reserve Market, as ordered by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

The staggered recovery plan was approved to minimize sudden cost burdens while maintaining reserve procurement obligations under the ERC’s regulatory guidelines.

NGCP operates under a concession agreement with the government and is responsible for transmitting electricity from power producers to distribution utilities across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Its pricing structure is reviewed and approved by the ERC to ensure fair, transparent, and accountable cost recovery.