A NEWLY organized consumer movement in Davao City is urging Davao Light and Power Company (Davao Light) to be transparent as the utility begins its takeover of the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative’s (Nordeco) franchise areas.
The call comes at a time when residents are grappling with an unusual P1.5625 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) jump in their monthly bills, a spike far greater than the centavo-level adjustments they had become accustomed to.
This increase is the second-highest since May 2024, which saw a P1.6254 per kWh increase, reportedly due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon coupled with the volatility of prices from the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
The Mindanao Alliance for Progress (MAP), in a statement furnished to SunStar Davao earlier this week, said Dabawenyos deserve transparency and assurance that the billions of pesos needed to rehabilitate Nordeco’s aging and unreliable power network will not be quietly charged to existing customers in the city.
“We understand that Davao Light’s entry into Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro will mean lower rates and better service to the people of these two provinces. But Davao Light should ensure that investments into these areas will not be paid for by existing customers of Davao Light,” said MAP coordinator Mayet Valdez.
Valdez added that MAP’s mission is to stand guard for consumers, promote transparency, and ensure that essential services such as electricity and infrastructure are delivered without exploiting taxpayers and ratepayers.
More than a peso instead of centavos
The increase of P1.5625 per kWh means that a typical household with an average monthly consumption of 200 kWh will experience a P312.50 increase compared to their previous billing cycle.
The sudden surge in September’s billing cycle stunned many Dabawenyos.
DLPC announced that its overall residential rate climbed from P9.0782/kWh in August to P10.6407/kWh from September 11 to October 10, 2025.
In past years and historically, SunStar’s monitoring of electricity bills has shown that fluctuations have usually been in the range of centavos.
DLPC attributed the increase to higher generation costs in the WESM, triggered by power plant outages that tightened supply. But for many in Davao City, the timing of the increase raised suspicions that expansion-related expenses might already be creeping into bills.
Dabawenyos worry about carrying the costs
Interviews with residents across Davao City reveal a shared unease.
A teacher from Bajada said she has always tolerated minor adjustments, but the over peso-level jump changed her perspective.
“Kasabot man ko nga usahay mosaka ang kuryente tungod sa fuel o supply, pero sa una centavos ra. Karon, peso na gyud. Basin unya kami taga-Davao City ang ipabayad sa gasto sa Nordeco (I understand that sometimes electricity rates go up because of fuel or supply, but before it was only a few centavos. Now it’s really in pesos. Maybe we, the people of Davao City, will end up paying for Nordeco’s expenses,) the teacher said.
In Bankerohan, a fish vendor voiced concern that her small household budget cannot absorb large jumps. “Naglibog ko nganong ingon ani kadako ang saka. Kung ang gasto sa Nordeco i-apil sa among bayranan, dili mi maka-igo. Dili man mi makagamit ana nga linya pero kami ang mubayad? (I’m confused why the increase is this big. If Nordeco’s expenses are included in what we have to pay, we won’t be able to afford it. We don’t even use that line, yet we’re the ones paying for it?)”
Another resident, a jeepney driver from El Rio, wondered why they should shoulder rehabilitation costs in other provinces. “Ang among serbisyo diri sa Davao City medyo okey. Pero kung i-apil mi sa gasto sa pag-ayo sa Nordeco, mura’g unfair. Dili man mi ang naka-benefit ana (Our service here in Davao City is quite okay. But if we’re included in the cost of repairing Nordeco, it seems unfair. We’re not the ones benefiting from that).”
These sentiments echo MAP’s call: consumers want Davao Light to show proof that costs from Nordeco’s troubled system will not be passed on to long-standing customers in Davao City.
Davao Light responds, but questions linger
During the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps briefing on September 17, Fermin Edillon, Davao Light’s Reputation Head, assured that Mindanao’s power situation remains stable, noting that the absence of a yellow alert for September reflects a healthy reserve margin. He emphasized that the recent increase was tied to market conditions and power plant outages, not to the expansion.
Edillon also explained that demand typically spikes during October and November when factories and businesses enter their busiest seasons, making supply management crucial. He said DLPC remains committed to maintaining reliability even as it expands into Nordeco’s territories.
Yet when asked specifically to comment on MAP’s concern, Davao Light is mum. As of press time, the company has not responded to SunStar Davao’s request for a full explanation, though the paper remains open to their side.
Transition and tensions
On the ground, Davao Light has already begun making its presence known in Nordeco’s territory. The company broke ground on its first digital substation in Tagum City last July and recently installed 45 distribution poles in Kapalong, Davao del Norte, in a symbolic start to the transition. But Nordeco maintains that it remains the rightful operator until the Supreme Court decides on its petition questioning the constitutionality of Republic Act 12144, the law that authorized the takeover.
The cooperative insists its operations are “full and normal” and has yet to formally respond to DLPC’s attempts to create a joint transition committee.
This tug-of-war has left many consumers confused. In Nordeco’s coverage areas, residents continue to face unstable supply and high bills, while Dabawenyos in DLPC’s core franchise worry they will be forced to subsidize the costly rehabilitation of those same networks. DEF