AVERAGE electricity prices rose in June and will be reflected in consumers’ July bills, the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) said on Thursday.
The wholesale electricity spot market (WESM) price climbed 22.7 percent to P9.56 per kilowatt-hour for the June billing period (May 26 to June 25), from P7.79 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) previously.
The increase stemmed from tighter power supply amid outages in Visayas and Mindanao, as average supply slipped 1.1 percent to 21,133 megawatts (MW) and demand eased 1.9 percent to 15,454 MW.
Visayas posted the steepest rate increase, with WESM prices up 1.7 percent to P14.46/kWh as regional supply fell 7.5 percent to 2,183 MW and demand dipped 0.5 percent to 2,166 MW.
Mindanao followed with a 37.5-percent surge to P12.75/kWh, with supply down 6.1 percent to 3,291 MW and demand lower at 2.5 percent to 2,153 MW.
Luzon, which recorded the lowest spot price, still saw a 13.3-percent increase to P7.95/kWh, even as region-wide supply rose to 15,659 MW from 15,509 MW.
“Grid alerts are more commonly associated with the summer months, when electricity demand is typically higher. This year, however, continued generating-unit outages and tighter regional supply conditions extended beyond the summer period, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said IEMOP Vice President for Trading Operations Isidro Cacho.
”June 2026 was a volatile month for the WESM,” Cacho added. “While the country had sufficient supply overall, outages, reserve shortages and transmission limitations created tighter conditions in some regions. Market prices reflected these conditions and showed where additional supply, reserves and transmission capacity were most needed.”
