TACLOBAN CITY — Consumers can expect a minor relief in their October 2025 electric bills as the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) announced a reduction in overall transmission rates due to lower ancillary service and transmission wheeling charges.
According to NGCP, the overall average transmission rate for the September billing period, reflected in October bills, declined by 1.23% to P1.3998 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from 1.4171 per kWh in August.
The decrease was attributed to reductions in both transmission wheeling rates—the cost of delivering electricity through the grid—and Ancillary Services (AS) rates, which cover payments to reserve power providers that help stabilize supply and maintain grid reliability.
“For the October 2025 electric bill of end consumers, NGCP charges only 59 centavos per kWh for the delivery of its services,” the company said, noting that AS charges still make up the bulk of transmission costs.
Transmission wheeling rates went down by 0.84%, from P0.5970/kWh in August to P0.5920/kWh in September, while AS rates dropped by 1.70%, from P0.6659/kWh to P0.6546/kWh during the same period.
NGCP clarified that it does not profit from ancillary service charges since these payments are remitted directly to power generators.
The company only earns from the wheeling charges, which cover the delivery of electricity from generation plants to distribution utilities.
The slight decline in transmission charges comes amid continuing efforts to stabilize power supply and ensure cost transparency in the national grid operations.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
