Power consumers of private distribution utilities and electric cooperatives may see an increase in transmission rates reflected in their August electricity bills due to a sharp increase in ancillary service (AS) rates.
AS rates, pass-through costs for power supplied by power generators that provide ancillary services during supply-demand imbalance, increased by 30.85 percent, or from P0.7941/kWh in June to P1.0391/kWh in the July billing period.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said in a press release Aug. 17 that it does not earn from AS and does not benefit from any change in AS prices, as these are remitted directly to generation companies with bilateral contracts with NGCP, and to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) for AS sourced from the Reserve Market.
Meanwhile, NGCP’s transmission wheeling rate, or the fee for delivering power through the transmission grid, slightly increased, from P0.5044/kWh in June to P0.5436/kWh in July.
Overall, the equivalent average transmission rate for distribution utilities and electric cooperatives for the July 2026 billing period to be billed by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives this August increased by 22.22 percent, to P1.7560/kWh, up from June’s P1.4367/kWh.
The NGCP reiterates that bulk of the overall transmission rate is attributable to charges for AS. “As System Operator, NGCP’s responsibility is to ensure grid stability and reliability, especially during periods of supply-demand imbalance.”
NGCP does not earn from Ancillary Service charges. These payments are remitted to the service providers that supply the reserves needed to keep the power system secure and reliable, it added. ||
