THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has issued resolutions aimed at making electricity charges more transparent for consumers.
Resolution 28, Series of 2026, establishes a new billing format for all distribution utilities (DUs) and Resolution 30, Series of 2026, adopts uniform rates on “other charges” that distribution utilities (DUs) may collect.
“The new format requires DUs to clearly and separately reflect government-mandated pass-through charges, including the system loss charge within the allowable cap, that are not subject to value-added tax (VAT),” the ERC said in a post on Facebook.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue earlier this month issued Revenue Memorandum Circular 097-2026 declaring that system loss is a government-mandated charge excluded from gross sales for VAT computation.
“With this new billing format, consumers will be able to see more clearly what they are paying for, while ensuring that VAT is not imposed on the allowable system loss charge,” ERC Chairman Francis Saturnino Juan said.
Resolution 30, meanwhile, states that other charges may “generally be imposed only for specific customer-requested or account-related activities that create additional costs for the DU, such as certain connection, disconnection, and reconnection services.” “Only charges included in the ERC-approved schedule of other Charges, or subsequently approved by the Commission, may be collected,” it adds.
For example, the cost of installing a temporary connection service was set at P1,337.80 while a transfer of a service connection will cost P2,053.59.
The ERC said the uniform rates would mean greater protection against double charging. The rules also standardized how charges will be computed, limiting allowable components to direct labor, deployment and fuel, and replacement materials directly used and excluding administrative and overhead expenses.
The rules also set safeguards for late payment fees, with a DU required to first properly serve a notice of disconnection. The late payment fee, meanwhile, cannot be more than 2.0 percent of the current month’s bill or the unpaid portion, whichever is lower. “With uniform and transparent other charges, consumers will have a clearer basis for understanding what they are being charged and why,” Juan said.
DUs were given 90 days from effectivity of the rules, which will be 15 days after publication, to adjust their billing systems, IT infrastructure and accounting records.
