MANILA, Philippines — Power consumers could soon receive bill adjustments or refunds after the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) ordered a recalculation of spot market transactions to strip away bloated line rental charges recorded earlier this year.
In an official statement released on Wednesday, October 14, the ERC announced it is enforcing a one-time settlement adjustment to correct elevated line charges incurred within the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) spanning from March 25 to April 30.
Based on the directive, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) must recalculate the affected settlements, requiring distribution utilities to pass the resulting credits straight to end-users.
The unusual surge in fees stemmed from a temporary suspension of regular power market trading declared during a national energy emergency, which subsequently triggered heavy price gaps between generation sites and delivery points.
IEMOP is granted 45 calendar days to complete the recalculation process and present its adjustment proposals to the ERC for formal clearance. Following approval, the operator will issue itemized billing adjustment statements to all impacted market participants.
The commission clarified that this intervention remains a temporary fix restricted solely to resolving the anomalous March and April billing cycles, ensuring the permanent framework of the WESM stays untouched.
ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan emphasized that ordinary power users must be shielded from unjustified expenses brought on by the energy crunch.
“This corrective measure ensures that electricity market settlements are fair, transparent, and properly accounted for, with any resulting credits or adjustments reaching consumers,” Juan said.
“Our priority is to ensure that corrective adjustments do not stop at the wholesale market level but are properly reflected in the charges borne by end-users,” he added.