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In a statement published on its social media account on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, the utility said the approved refund translates to an average rate of P0.34 per kilowatt-hour across affected customers, while residential consumers are expected to receive an average refund of about P0.59 per kilowatt-hour.
Why it matters
The refund provides additional relief for electricity consumers as power costs remain a key concern for households and businesses. It also highlights the ERC’s regulatory mechanism that requires distribution utilities to return excess collections when actual tariffs exceed approved rates.
Meralco said the latest move follows two refund applications it filed in 2025 and early 2026 covering the January to June 2025 and July to December 2025 periods.
The company noted that the latest refund is separate from earlier refund programs. It previously implemented a P40.5 billion refund covering July 2015 to June 2022, which was returned to customers from March 2021 to May 2023. It is also implementing an ongoing P20 billion refund covering July 2022 to December 2024, which began in April 2025.
The details
According to Meralco, the refund pertains to the difference between its actual weighted average tariff and its approved distribution tariff during the covered periods.
The company explained that its actual weighted average tariff increased because residential electricity consumption was significantly higher than that of other customer classes, resulting in a higher weighted average tariff. Under the ERC-approved true-up mechanism, any excess distribution tariff unintentionally collected must be returned to consumers.
“This true-up mechanism is part of ERC-approved regulatory process that aims to ensure that a distribution utility will refund any excess tariff it may have unintentionally collected as a result of the true up,” Meralco senior vice president and head of regulatory management Jose Ronald Valles said.
Meralco added that the mechanism applies uniformly to all private distribution utilities, although the outcome may differ depending on each utility’s customer sales mix. In its case, the company filed refund applications rather than seeking additional collections, which were subsequently approved by the ERC.
What’s next
The utility said the approved refund will be reflected as a separate line item in customers’ monthly electricity bills, allowing consumers to clearly identify the amount being credited back to them. It added that other private distribution utilities also have similar applications pending before the ERC.
— Edited by Daxim L. Lucas
