NGCP pushes unbundling of transmission charges

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on Wednesday called for the unbundling of transmission charges in a bid to promote greater transparency in consumers’ electricity bills.

In a statement, NGCP said unbundling the transmission charge would help consumers better understand the different components reflected in their power bills.

The grid operator said transmission charges consist of several components, including transmission wheeling charges and ancillary services (AS) charges.

The wheeling charge refers to what NGCP collects for its primary service of delivering power across distribution utilities and electric cooperatives. 

AS charge pertains to pass-through costs for power supplied by AS providers through bilateral contracts with NGCP, as well as from the reserve market to stabilize the grid during supply-demand imbalances.

Another component reflected in transmission charges is the Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL), which NGCP said, is not charged to distribution utilities and electric cooperatives but only to consumers directly connected to the grid.

The company said that for the November 2025 billing period, the equivalent average transmission rate stood at P1.3547 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), down from P1.5105 per kWh in October.

NGCP noted that a significant portion of transmission charges in recent years has been driven by AS costs, which do not accrue to the company.

It added that these charges are fully collected and remitted to AS providers in line with regulatory requirements.

“Over the past year, AS rates formed the bulk of transmission charges following the shift to all-firm AS contracts and the commercial operations of the Ancillary Services Reserve Market,” the grid operator said.

NGCP clarified that it does not generate any revenues from pass-through costs such as AS charges and FIT-ALL.

"The company is obligated to collect and remit these charges in full to AS providers and to TransCo for FIT-ALL," NGCP said. 

"It is only proper that these be clearly separated from transmission wheeling rates, which represent NGCP’s actual charge for power delivery services,” it added.—MCG, GMA Integrated News