April 27, 2026 —Meralco has clarified that the recent electricity bill charges are not new or company-imposed fees but government-mandated pass-through charges, all approved by regulators before implementation. The utility emphasized that these charges support subsidies for vulnerable sectors and renewable energy programs, and Meralco does not profit from them.

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) issued a statement to address confusion and counterclaims circulating on social media regarding electricity bill charges. The company stressed that all items reflected in bills are lawful, transparent, and vetted by regulators before implementation.

“Meralco, just like other electricity distributors across the country, operate under strict regulatory oversight that ensures all charges are lawful, transparent, and properly vetted. Every line item in your electricity bill has been approved before they are reflected and implemented,” Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.

The company explained that bills include subsidies mandated by law, such as the senior citizen discount under the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, and the lifeline rate subsidy under the Expanded Lifeline Rate Law, which benefits Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) households. Other charges include the Universal Charge, Feed-in Tariff Allowance, and Green Energy Auction Allowance, which fund government projects and accelerate the country’s transition to clean energy.

“These mandated charges are remitted to the government through the relevant agencies. To reiterate, these are not new charges and they are not exclusive to Meralco as these are implemented by all distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country,” Zaldarriaga said.

Meralco clarified that pass-through charges such as generation, transmission, and taxes are collected on behalf of other entities and do not form part of its revenues. “We act solely as collection agents for these costs. These do not form part of our revenues in any way,” Zaldarriaga explained.

The company also highlighted that its own distribution charge has remained unchanged since its reduction in 2022. “We will not cease our efforts to empower consumers with the right information. We put prime importance to transparency and accountability and I would like to assure our customers that they can reach out to us any time through our various customer touch points,” Zaldarriaga added.

Meralco further noted that the bulk of electricity costs come from generation charges, which account for about 55% of a consumer’s monthly bill. Transmission costs make up 10.1%, distribution costs 17.5%, taxes 11.7%, and other charges 5.7%. The utility recently implemented a rate increase of 53 centavos per kilowatt-hour for April 2026, translating to an additional PHP 106 for households consuming 200 kWh.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) also ordered Meralco to accelerate the refund of PHP 14.17 billion to customers, with the remaining balance to be returned at PHP 0.2511 per kilowatt-hour over the next 12 months. This refund will appear as a separate line item in bills.

Meralco urged customers to use its official service channels for clarification, reiterating its commitment to transparency and accountability amid widespread online misinformation.