Residential power rates rise in January

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD CITY—The average residential electricity rate in the Negros Power franchise area rose to PHP 13.1076 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in January 2026, up by PHP 1.0635 per kWh from PHP 12.0441 per kWh in December 2025, driven mainly by higher power supply costs and other industrywide charges.

In a statement Friday, Negros Power said the increase affects electricity consumers in its franchise area in the Visayas and was largely due to movements in generation and regulatory charges beyond the control of distribution utilities.

The biggest contributor to the rate hike was the increase in prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), where utilities source electricity when contracted supply is insufficient.

For the January billing period, WESM prices rose to PHP 7.5031 per kWh from PHP 6.0405 per kWh, an increase of PHP 1.4626 per kWh.

This resulted in a PHP 1.0427 per kWh increase in generation charges passed on to consumers, Negros Power said.

The utility said higher market prices were caused by reduced available power supply in the Visayas, compounded by limitations in the high-voltage direct current interconnection between Mindanao and the Visayas, which restricted the transfer of additional power into the region.

Several major baseload power plants in the Visayas operated at reduced capacity during the month, including the Leyte “A” Geothermal Power Plant, Therma Visayas Inc., the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant, and Palm Concepcion Power Corp.

These reductions tightened supply and pushed spot market prices higher, the company said.

Partially offsetting the increase was a slight reduction in transmission charges following lower ancillary service charges, which declined to PHP 57.3198 per kilowatt from PHP 62.9213 per kilowatt.

This translated to an estimated PHP 0.1857 per kWh decrease in transmission charges for residential consumers.

Additional charges approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission also took effect starting January 2026.

These include the Green Energy Auction Allowance at PHP 0.0371 per kWh and the new Feed-in Tariff Allowance at PHP 0.2011 per kWh.

Negros Power emphasized that the adjustments are 100% pass-through charges mandated by market conditions and regulatory approvals and are not determined by the distribution utility.

“Negros Power remains committed to transparency and will continue to keep consumers informed about factors affecting electricity rates,” the utility said.