Iloilo City consumers face higher June power bills

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ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Consumers in Iloilo City will pay higher electricity bills this June after MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), the city’s sole electricity distribution utility, implemented a P2.04-per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) increase across all customer classes, citing higher pass-through charges that it collects on behalf of power industry stakeholders.

MORE Power, which has served Iloilo City since 2020 after taking over the area’s power distribution franchise, provides electricity to more than 100,000 customers in the city and is set to expand its service coverage to neighboring local government units under its expanded franchise.

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In an advisory released June 29, the utility said the June adjustment raised the average residential electricity rate to P13.91 per kWh from P11.87 per kWh in May.

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Commercial consumers will pay P13.04 per kWh, up from P11.00 per kWh, while the average rate for power customers increased to P13.13 per kWh from P11.09 per kWh. All three customer classes recorded the same P2.04-per-kWh increase.

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MORE Power said electricity rates are composed of several charges, the majority of which are beyond the control of distribution utilities. These include generation, transmission, system loss, government subsidies, value-added tax (VAT), local taxes, and Universal Charge and Feed-in Tariff (UC-FIT) charges.

The company explained that these are pass-through charges, meaning they are collected from consumers and remitted to power generators, the transmission provider, government agencies, and other entities, without generating income for the distribution utility.

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According to MORE Power, the only portion of the electricity bill that directly accrues to the company is the Distribution, Supply, and Metering (DSM) charge, which covers electricity delivery, customer service, metering, and billing, and is regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

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A comparison of the residential bill components released by the utility showed that the June increase was driven mainly by higher generation and other pass-through costs, while the DSM component remained relatively unchanged.

The advisory was issued to help consumers better understand the composition of their electricity bills and the reasons behind the June rate adjustment, emphasizing that fluctuations in generation and other regulated charges can significantly affect monthly electricity costs even when distribution charges remain stable. /cb

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