Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Monday clarified that specific charges on consumers’  electricity bills  are regulated and legally-mandated, adding that no new charges were implemented.

The utility company clarified the itemized charges on electricity bills,  following confusion circulating on social media.

“Meralco, just like other electricity distributors across the country, operate under strict regulatory oversight that ensures all charges are lawful, transparent, and properly vetted. Every line item in your electricity bill has been approved before they are reflected and implemented,” said Joe R. Zaldarriaga during a press briefing.

The company emphasized among those being questioned are public policy charges which are mandated by law and applied across all distribution utilities nationwide.

“These are not new charges and they are not exclusive to Meralco as these are implemented by all distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country,” Zaldarriaga said.

He said charges such as  lifeline subsidy and senior citizen subsidy,  provide support to low-income households and qualified elderly users, while the  universal charge is intended to fund electrification in off-grid areas. Also included are the Feed-in Tariff Allowance and Green Energy Auction Allowance, which support the development of renewable energy.

Meralco explained that these are pass-through charges collected on behalf of the government.

“We act solely as collection agents for these costs. These do not form part of our revenues in any way,” Zaldarriaga stated.

The company added that public policy charges account for a small portion of electricity bills—less than 10% —with the bulk of costs coming from generation charges, or the cost of purchasing electricity from suppliers.

Other major components include transmission charges paid to the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, distribution charges for delivering electricity to customers, and taxes such as value-added tax.

Meralco also said increases in electricity bills are more often driven by higher consumption, particularly during the summer months when demand rises.

The utility reiterated that all charges reflected in electricity bills are subject to regulatory approval and oversight, and cannot be imposed arbitrarily.

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