MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Energy (DOE) on Monday reported that the Philippines has the highest residential electricity rates in Southeast Asia for the month of June alone.
Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said the Philippines' power rate is P12.43 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) compared to Singapore's P12.34 per kWh, citing the yellow alerts in Visayas as behind the increase.
"We had the highest residential electricity rates in Asean, mainly due to the yellow alerts in [the] Visayas brought about in turn by lack of electricity supply overall in the island group," Guevara said.
"Moreover, another reason was demand being high during the dry season, which in turn forced generation companies to use the more expensive fuels to keep power plants, and also made electricity remain at high levels," she added.
