The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) is pushing for a clearer breakdown of your monthly electricity bill, arguing that consumers deserve to know exactly which fees go to the grid operator and which are simply passed on to power generators.
The proposal centers on "unbundling" transmission charges. Currently, your bill lumps together the actual cost of delivering power (transmission wheeling) with Ancillary Services (AS)—the reserve power kept on standby to keep the grid stable.
While these appear as a single line item, NGCP notes that AS charges are "pass-through" costs. This means the money is collected by NGCP but paid directly to the power plants providing the reserves; the grid operator does not keep a cent of it.
For November 2025, consumers saw some relief as the average transmission rate dropped to 1.3547 pesos per kilowatt-hour, down from 1.5105 pesos in October. Despite the dip, NGCP maintains that the current billing format obscures the truth about where the money goes.
"Over the past year, AS rates formed the bulk of transmission charges... It is only proper that these be clearly separated from transmission wheeling rates," the NGCP said in a statement.
Beyond AS, the grid operator also highlighted the Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-ALL), another pass-through cost that supports renewable energy. Under current rules, FIT-ALL is only charged to consumers directly connected to the grid.
By separating these fees, the NGCP aims to clarify that while transmission charges fluctuate based on reserve needs, those increases are driven by generation costs rather than grid operations.
