Power transmission rates up in July as ancillary charges climb 9.3%

Insider Spotlight

• Power transmission rates rose 5.49 percent in July 2025.
• Ancillary service (AS) rates drove most of the increase.
• NGCP says it does not profit from AS charges.

Power consumers will see higher transmission charges in their July 2025 electricity bills, primarily due to a rise in ancillary service (AS) costs, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said on Monday.

Driving the story:

The overall equivalent average transmission rate for the June 2025 billing period rose 5.49 percent to P1.2113 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), from P1.1482/kWh in May. Most of the increase came from a 9.32-percent hike in AS charges, which went up from P0.5655/kWh to P0.6182/kWh.

Catch up quick:

Ancillary services are essential for maintaining grid stability, especially during sudden shifts in power supply or demand. These include services like frequency regulation, spinning reserve, and reactive power support.

• AS costs are passed through to consumers and are remitted either to generating companies under contract with NGCP or to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), which manages the Reserve Market.
• “For the July 2025 electric bill of the end consumers, NGCP charges only PhP0.46/kWh for the delivery of its services,” the grid operator said.

Yes, but:

While the wheeling rate for NGCP’s core transmission services only rose by 0.39 percent—from P0.4593/kWh in May to P0.4611/kWh in June—the larger jump in AS charges significantly drove up the total bill.

By the numbers:

• Total average transmission rate: P1.2113/kWh
• NGCP wheeling charge: P0.4611/kWh
• AS rate: P0.6182/kWh

What to watch:

The June billing period for Visayas included the final installment of a deferred AS cost settlement from March 2024. This had been approved for staggered recovery by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), and its completion in June added to the current cost burden.

The bottom line:

NGCP clarified it does not earn from AS charges and emphasized that the bulk of transmission costs reflect payments to other service providers.