PMCJ lambasts ERC: You are taking away a day's wage of workers to keep the profit of the energy companies

Quezon City, Philippines — Sharing the anger the majority of the Filipinos are feeling over the news, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) expresses its utmost outrage to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for authorizing Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), on Jan. 27, 2026, and its four power generation partners to recover costs worth ₱31.34 billion by keeping power rates high. The four power generators are coal plants, now considered inefficient and reliant on imported fuel.

Generation companies (GenCos) Phinma Energy Corp. (PHINMA), South Premiere Power Corp. (SPPC), Sual Power Inc. (SPI), and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC) get ERC’s nod to recover costs worth ₱15.85 billion, ₱13.36 billion, ₱1.75 billion, and ₱380.6 million, respectively, 'due to various changes in circumstances (CIC)'. This translates to ₱0.2816 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) hike in Meralco consumers' electricity bills effective March 2026.

“ERC Chairperson Francis Saturnino Juan attempted to downplay the impact by saying that Meralco has been implementing an earlier CIC rate of ₱0.28/kWh from September 2025 to February 2026. It is not ₱0.2817 but ₱0.5617/kWh cumulatively collected in a period of 6 months from electric consumers. A consumer with an average of ₱500 kWh/month consumption will be saddled with an additional electricity payment of ₱280.00, equivalent to a day’s wage for 50% of the country's daily wage earners. Aside from downplaying, there is an attempt to normalize the implementation of “change of circumstance”, embodied by EPIRA, which is abusive and protects the interests of big energy monopolies. It is a protective clause for energy companies that accommodates inefficiencies and unfair market practices,” said Ian Rivera, PMCJ national coordinator.

“Take the case of Panay Energy Development Corporation (PEDC), which ERC allowed to collect a total of ₱380.6 million at ₱0.0093/kWh from March 2026 until the full payment of PEDC's total recoverable amount. The amount represents so-called losses from the period Sep. 26, 2022, to Dec. 4, 2022. However, PEDC is one of the 10 most inefficient coal plants in the country. Record shows from 2019 to 2023, it incurred a total of 11 outages. Why was it allowed to recover its outages?” Rivera stressed.

The 2019 Power Supply Agreements (PSAs) were signed with already-low coal price assumptions, even though the risks of price volatility, geopolitical exposure, and stranded asset risk were well known. By that time, the Philippines had committed in 2017 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75% under the Paris Agreement, signaling a national shift away from fossil fuels. The global momentum was also underway. 

The CIC cited by ERC to justify the billions of cost recovery recognized that unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia’s coal export ban, and the Russia-Ukraine war have caused coal prices to surge. While these events did affect the costs, they were compounded by the industry’s longstanding reliance on coal and its failure to account for known risks. As a result,  Filipinos are now exposed to a more troubling reality: consumers are forced to pay the costs of fossil fuel dependence and the industry’s collapse. 

“The ₱31.34 billion bill to consumers reveals a deeper injustice in the Philippines. These PSAs were built on outdated fuel price assumptions that ignored the climate realities and the global energy transition commitments. When coal prices spiked, as they inevitably would, the losses were not absorbed by companies that consciously rely on coal, but passed on to consumers who had no say in these decisions,” said Ellenor Bartolome, PMCJ policy, campaigns, and communications lead. 

“The ERC’s mandate is not only to promote competition and market development, but to protect consumers and ensure affordable electricity for all. But this decision to allow coal losses to be recovered from the Filipino people highlights a regulatory framework that continues to prioritize corporate protection over consumer protection, and contract stability over climate alignment. This is clearly the result of a system where the costs of delayed energy transition are socialized, while the profits remain privatized,” stressed Bartolome. 

Apart from impacts related to energy costs and rising electricity bills, coal plant operations in host and neighboring communities have resulted in livelihood losses or displacement, environmental damage, pollution, and adverse health impacts.

In an interview conducted by the PMCJ last September 2025, Lilia, not her real name, shared that when the coal-fired power plant of the PEDC began operating right in front of her fish pen and nets in Ingore, Iloilo, she gradually lost her livelihood as the fish disappeared, grew stunted, and emitted a foul gas-like smell on their gills.

"Before the coal plant, we were able to get many tubs of fish, crabs, and shrimp. It came to a point where we could catch only two or three tubs after a long day of fishing. What used to be a 10,000-peso earning from tangab plummeted to ₱2,000 per day,” said Lilia, in her local language.

“We have been stressing that a dying industry, such as coal, made our energy security worse by being dependent on imported fuels. This is what the government energy regulators want us to have. A future with fossil fuels is one in which consumers are burdened. People have to put in their hard-earned money to keep the profits of these dirty, ageing fossil fuel plants. We call on ERC Chair Juan to regulate on the side of the consumers from unfair and unscrupulous market behavior of GenCos,” ended Rivera. ###

---

FOR INQUIRIES:

Sheila Abarra

Senior Media and Communications Officer

Philippine Movement for Climate Justice

mediacommunications@climatejustice.ph

Viber: +639916692356

WhatsApp: +639380898327