The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said consumers can expect lower transmission rates this May 2025.
The power firm issued the statement following a reduction in transmission wheeling rates and Ancillary Services (AS) rates for the April 2025 billing period.
The equivalent average transmission rates for the April 2025 billing period dropped by 28.45% to PhP1.0904/kWh, from March's PhP1.5240/kWh, the NGCP said.
Transmission wheeling rates are those that NGCP charges for its primary service of delivering power.
AS rates, on the other hand, pertain to the pass-through costs for power supplied by AS providers to stabilize the grid during power supply-demand imbalance.
AS charges are remitted directly to generating companies with bilateral contracts with NGCP, and to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) for the AS sourced from the Reserve Market.
NGCP's transmission wheeling rates went down by 16.35%, from P0.5505/kWh in the March 2025 billing period to P0.4605/kWh in the April 2025 billing period.
“For the May 2025 electric bill of the end consumers, NGCP charges only 46 centavos per kWh for the delivery of its services,” NGCP explained, adding that AS still accounts for the bulk of transmission charges.
Average AS rates for the April 2025 billing period decreased by 36.07% to P0.5175/kWh,
compared to P0.8094/kWh in the March 2025 billing period.
The AS cost for Visayas for the April 2025 billing period includes the 4th tranche of the settlement of the remaining 70 percent AS from the Reserve Market during the March 2024 billing period whose recovery was deferred by the ERC.
NGCP clarified that it does not earn from AS and does
not benefit from the movement in prices.