Meralco customers to get P2.64-billion distribution charge refund in six months, ERC says

MANILA, Oct. 12, 2026 — More than eight million Meralco customers are set to receive a combined P2.64 billion in refunds after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) found that the distributor collected more in distribution charges than it was authorized to in the first half of 2026.

The ERC announced the directive on Monday, Oct. 12. It is contained in an order the commission approved on Oct. 9 under ERC Case No. 2026-129 RC, which gave Meralco provisional authority on its “true-up” of distribution charges for January to June 2026.

In a true-up, the regulator compares the utility’s actual weighted average tariff (AWAT), which is computed from actual revenues and kilowatt-hour sales, with its approved rate. The ERC said Meralco’s AWAT for the six-month period was P1.5537 per kWh, against an approved distribution rate of P1.3522 per kWh. The gap of roughly P0.20 per kWh translated to about P5.36 billion in excess collections. After netting out the effects of earlier refund and true-up rulings, the commission put the amount due to consumers at P2.64 billion.

Meralco had asked to return the money over 12 months at about P0.0487 per kWh. The ERC instead cut the period to roughly six months, raising the average refund rate to P0.1020 per kWh. ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan said the shorter schedule was meant to give consumers relief sooner while power prices stay high.

What it means for consumers

Refund rates vary by customer class. Residential and General Service A accounts will get P0.1733 per kWh, while flat-rate streetlights will get P0.1764 per kWh. General Service B customers will receive P0.1147 per kWh; government hospitals, metered streetlights and charitable institutions, P0.0706 per kWh; and generator wheeling accounts, P0.0128 per kWh.

The credit will show up as a separate line labeled “AWAT (Refund)/Collect” on monthly bills. Juan told BusinessWorld it would begin in the billing cycle after Meralco receives the order, and that it would be implemented together with the recently approved rate reset, so current rates should barely move.

That reset, approved over the weekend before the refund announcement, sets an average distribution rate of P1.48 per kWh for Meralco’s first regulatory year, starting the July 2026–June 2030 regulatory period. This is up from about P1.35 per kWh but well below the P2.34 per kWh Meralco sought. It is the distributor’s first reset since 2011.

The refund is provisional. The ERC scheduled hearings from Oct. 16 to 23 for its final evaluation and said any needed adjustments would follow. It will also require monthly reports from Meralco until the full amount is returned.