BACOLOD City – Residential electricity rates of Negros Electric and Power Corp. (Negros Power) for the September 2026 billing cycle decreased by P0.030 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), following the recalculation of Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges.
Engr. Joe-Mel Zaporteza, Negros Power vice president and chief operating officer, announced the adjustment during a press briefing at their Bacolod office on Tuesday, September 22, regarding the Regional Secondary Price Cap (SPC) and the September rates.
The residential rate for the billing month of September is P14.2487 per kWh, lower than the P14.2787 per kWh in August billing.
Zaporteza said that consumers with the same power consumption as the previous month may expect a reduction in their total electricity bill this month.
He stressed that the September rate would have been significantly higher without the Regional SPC implemented by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Without the intervention, retail electricity rates for this month’s billing would have reached P17.8337 per kWh, or P3.550 higher than the August rate.
Under ERC Memorandum Circular No. 2026-048, the commission directed the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) to recalculate August 2026 WESM costs using the Regional SPC to mitigate surging power costs in Visayas and Mindanao.
The measure reduced the average August WESM price in the Visayas from P18.59 per kWh to P8.47 per kWh, representing a 54-percent reduction. In Mindanao, the average WESM rate was reduced from P19.56 to P8.69 per kWh, representing a 56 percent reduction.
Zaporteza said the recalculated WESM costs for August were incorporated into the September customer bills for the coverage period of August 16 to September 16..
He added that WESM prices may continue to move upward or downward in the coming months depending mainly on electricity supply conditions.
For power supplied through Power Supply Agreements, meanwhile, costs are based on contracts established through the Competitive Selection Process and approved by the ERC./PN
