Higher transmission charges in August

CEBU, Philippines — Power consumers served by private distribution utilities and electric cooperatives may see higher transmission charges reflected in their August 2026 electricity bills due to a sharp increase in ancillary service (AS) rates.

According to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the AS rates, which are pass-through costs for power supplied by generators that provide reserves during supply-demand imbalances, increased by 30.85 percent from P0.7941 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in June to P1.0391 per kWh in the July billing period.

NGCP said it does not earn from AS charges and does not benefit from changes in AS prices.

According to the corporation, the payments are remitted directly to generation companies with bilateral contracts with the grid operator and to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) for AS sourced from the Reserve Market.

Meanwhile, NGCP’s transmission wheeling rate, or the fee for delivering electricity through the transmission grid, also increased slightly from P0.5044 per kWh in June to P0.5436 per kWh in July.

As a result, the equivalent average transmission rate for distribution utilities and electric cooperatives for the July 2026 billing period, which will be billed to consumers in August, rose by 22.22 percent to P1.7560 per kWh from P1.4367 per kWh in June.

NGCP reiterated that a large portion of the overall transmission rate is attributable to AS charges.

“As System Operator, NGCP’s responsibility is to ensure grid stability and reliability, especially during periods of supply-demand imbalance. NGCP does not earn from Ancillary Service charges. These payments are remitted to the service providers that supply the reserves needed to keep the power system secure and reliable,” NGCP emphasized in a statement. — (FREEMAN)