AFTER months of yellow and red alerts and almost daily three-hour Manual Load Droppings (MLD), the consumers of the City and Province of Iloilo are almost poised for a hefty increase in the current electricity rates based on the “Law of Supply and Demand”.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case as “I Am Iloilo City’s” sole power distribution utility, MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), with a little help from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), decided to “bend” the law of supply and demand.
Residential consumers of MORE Power are accorded some relief from what could have been a significantly higher electricity rate this September following the regional implementation of the Secondary Price Cap (SPC) in the Visayas.
According to, MORE Power Chief Operating Officer Engr. Ronald R. Torres and Energy Sourcing Department Manager Raphael Dorilag, the residential rate could have reached approximately ₱16.56 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) this September.
This happened when the regional price cap was applied on the recomputation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) charges, resulting into the residential rate dropping to approximately ₱14.42/kWh.
In simpler terms, consumers of the City and Province of Iloilo dodged a potential hefty electric rate increase due to some creative recomputation of WESM charges and the implementation of SPC in the Visayas.
This relief rather adjustment stems from Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Order No. 2026-048 MC, which directed the regional implementation of SPC for the Visayas and Mindanao grids, retroactive to the August 2026 WESM billing period.
As MORE Power explained, the two regions experienced unusually high WESM prices in August due to tight supply conditions and limited generation availability. Grid alert conditions, however, had already been experienced as early as May during the summer season.
The regional approach allows the price-mitigation mechanism to respond specifically to conditions in the Visayas and Mindanao rather than having market conditions elsewhere affect the determination of when the cap should apply.
SPC is a WESM mechanism designed to limit prolonged exposure to unusually high spot-market prices once the prescribed price threshold is reached. Under the new ERC order, its implementation is determined regionally for the Visayas and Mindanao.
Take note that recomputation is not a refund.
MORE Power also clarified that the adjustment should not be described as a refund.
Although the ERC order applies retroactively to the August WESM supply period, the recomputed charges for that supply month are reflected in the applicable September 2026 customer bills.
The August customer bill, meanwhile, was based on the earlier July WESM supply period.
MORE Power stressed that this is a recomputation, not a refund, and consumers should not expect a cash refund, refund check or reversal of their previous electricity bill.
The actual WESM recomputation is undertaken by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), which operates the WESM, rather than being arbitrarily determined by distribution utilities.
Distribution utilities subsequently use the applicable final settlement in computing the charges reflected in their customers’ bills.
MORE Power also clarified that the recomputation should not be interpreted as an admission that distribution utilities had previously overcharged consumers. Utilities billed customers based on the applicable power supply costs and market settlements available during the relevant billing periods, while the latest adjustment resulted from the ERC’s subsequent directive to implement the SPC regionally.
For MORE Power consumers in Iloilo City, the immediate effect is significant: instead of a residential rate that could have climbed to around ₱16.55/kWh, the September rate stands at approximately ₱14.42/kWh following the application of the regional price-mitigation mechanism.
By the way, this relief can be felt in the October payment cycle.
Consumers do not need to file a claim or apply for the adjustment, as the applicable recomputation is incorporated into the normal billing process.
At the end of the day, MORE Power continues to monitor the situation of generation plants that provide energy. The company assures that it will continue to exert efforts to mitigate the impacts of market-driven cost changes./PN
