The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has directed the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to refund a total of P9.51 billion to its customers, at an average refund rate of PO.3448 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
The directive, issued in ERC Case Nos. 2025-178 RC and 2026-040 RC, covers Meralco’s regulatory “true-up” of its distribution charges for the period January to December 2025.
The refund comes from the ERC’s “true-up” process, which checks whether the distribution rates Meralco actually charged customers match what it was truly entitled to collect, based on its real revenues and electricity sales during the period.
This is on top of the ongoing refund of P14.17 billion that Meralco began implementing in April 2026.
Under this process, called the Actual Weighted Average Tariff (AWAT), the Commission compares what Meralco was allowed to charge under its approved distribution rate against what its actual costs and sales show it should have charged. Since Meralco’s approved rate turned out to be higher than its actual entitlement, the difference – plus interest of P496,065,620 – must be returned to consumers. This is on top of the ongoing refund of P14.17 billion that Meralco began implementing in April 2026 for an earlier true-up period (July 2022 to December 2024).
With this new Decision, the ERC directed Meralco to complete the refund within a much shorter period of six (6) months, so that consumers feel the relief sooner. The refund will appear as a separate line item on Meralco bills labeled “AWAT (Refund)/Collect,” so customers can clearly see the amount being credited back to them each month.
The refund rate is not the same for every type of customer. It is computed separately for each customer class based on that class’s share of the over-collection and expected consumption. Below is the refund rate for each customer class:
| CUSTOMER CLASS | REFUND RATE (PHP/KWH) |
| Residential and General Service A | 0.5861 |
| Flat Streetlights | 0.5746 |
| General Service B | 0.3879 |
| GHMSCI (Government Hospitals, Metered Streetlights, and Charitable Institutions) | 0.2298 |
| General Power | 0.1740 |
| Generator-Wheeling | 0.0493 |
| Average Refund Rate (All Classes) | 0.3448 |
Residential and General Service A customers – mostly households and small businesses — and Flat Streetlights accounts will see the highest refund rates, meaning they stand to receive the biggest reduction in their monthly bills relative to their consumption.
“The ERC is exploring all avenues to provide relief to consumers in these times of prolonged elevated electricity prices brought about by the Middle East conflict. The Commission’s immediate action on this true-up application of Meralco, including the expedited refund order, is part of that effort,” ERC Chairperson and CEO Atty. Francis Saturnino Juan said.
“By shortening the refund period and ensuring the true-up mechanism works as intended, we are making sure that any amount collected beyond what is fair is promptly returned to Meralco customers.”
“By shortening the refund period and ensuring the true-up mechanism works as intended, we are making sure that any amount collected beyond what is fair is promptly returned to Meralco customers,” Juan added.
The refund will take effect starting the next billing cycle following Meralco’s receipt of the Decision.
The ERC will continue to closely monitor Meralco’s implementation of the refund and require regular reporting until the full amount, together with interest, has been returned to customers.
