‘Pass-through’ charges collected from consumers are mandated by law, says Meralco

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Sunday said “pass-through” charges collected from its consumers are mandated by the law, as recent electricity bills drew flak among netizens.

One of these “pass-through” charges is the lifeline rate, which are turned into subsidies given to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries, Meralco vice president Joe Zaldarriaga told Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday.

“'Yung lifeline rate, ito ay subsidiya na ibinibigay sa 4Ps at nakapagpakita ng local social welfare development certification. Ito 'yung subsidy na ayon sa RA 11552, Expanded Lifeline Rate Law, equivalent ito sa P0.1/kWh na cross-subsidy charge,” Zaldarriaga said.

(The money collected through the lifeline rate is used as a subsidy to be given to 4Ps beneficiaries and has demonstrated local social welfare development certification. This is the subsidy that, according to Republic Act 11552, the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law, is equivalent to a P0.1/kWh cross subsidy charge.)

The pass-through charges also shoulder the discounts given to senior citizens, which is mandated under RA 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, according to the Meralco official. 

The said measure gives a five percent subsidy to senior citizens whose consumption does not exceed 100 kWh a month.

“Equivalent ito sa ngayon ng (this is equivalent to) .0001 per kw/h,” Zaldarriaga said.

He explained that the generation charge has a big impact on their consumer’s monthly electricity bill.

According to its website, Meralco said 55% of their consumer’s monthly electricity bill comes from the generation charge, which is the cost of power it purchases from its suppliers.

“Kapag may impact every month, it’s really the generation charge. 'Yun talaga nagdidikta kung gagalaw 'yung electricity bill mo o hindi,” Zaldarriaga said.

(If there is an impact every month, it’s really the generation charge. That really dictates whether your electricity bill will move or not.)

He added Meralco’s distribution charge has not changed since 2015, while its transmission charge slightly increased.

“Ang system loss ay mayroong cap na hanggang 6.5%. Ang Meralco ay way below the cap,” Zaldarriaga said.

(The system loss has a cap of up to 6.5%. Meralco is way below the cap.)

In a statement, Meralco said it released clarifications after misleading statements circulated on social media about “additional” charges in electricity bills.

“I wish to clarify that these are not company-imposed fees but are mandated designed to support vulnerable sectors and accelerate the country’s transition to cleaner energy,” Zaldarriaga said.

In another statement on Saturday, Zaldarriaga explained that every electricity bill includes “pass-through”  charges that go towards government programs for senior citizens and lifeline consumers, and renewable energy subsidies to support the country’s move to shift to cleaner energy.

“These charges include mandated subsidies and taxes, which are remitted to the government through the relevant agencies. In, addition, these are implemented by all distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country, and are not exclusive to Meralco," Zaldarriaga said.

“Kasama sa mga charges na ito ang mandated subsidies and taxes na nirere-remit sa government through the relevant agencies. Bukod dito, ang mga ito ay ini-implement ng lahat ng distribution utilities at electric cooperatives sa basa, at hindi lang exclusive sa Meralco,” he added.

(These charges include mandated subsidies and taxes remitted to the government through the relevant agencies. In addition, these are implemented by all distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country, and are not exclusive to Meralco.)

Meralco earlier announced an increase of 53 centavos per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in its power for April 2026 as the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar due to the Middle East crisis drove up generation costs. —RF/KG, GMA News