Consumers should expect higher electricity bills next month as the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved an increase in the feed-in tariff allowance (FIT-All). The adjustment was made following the depletion of the FIT-All Fund, which was affected by the sustained low prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In a statement, the ERC confirmed that it approved the National Transmission Corporation’s (TransCo) request to raise the FIT-All rate from P0.0838 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to P0.1189 per kWh during its regular commission meeting on February 19.
The FIT-All is a mandatory charge applied to all on-grid electricity consumers and is intended to support the growth of renewable energy (RE) in the country.
“In approving the increase, the ERC noted the depletion of the FIT-ALL Fund due to sustained low prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM),” the statement read.
“The lower-than-expected WESM prices adversely affected the fund’s capacity to cover the FIT payments, necessitating adjustments in the FIT-ALL computation to ensure the payments for the supply to consumers coming from renewable energy (RE) FIT-eligible power plants,” it added.
The ERC also noted that the FIT Differential, which represents the gap between the FIT rates paid to renewable energy generators and prevailing WESM prices, has been revised to P10,125,029,884, down from TransCo’s initial estimate of P13,541,077,775, based on actual generation data from January to December 2024.
“The ERC is committed to ensuring that FIT payments are sustained to support the continued development of renewable energy projects while balancing the impact on consumers,” the statement concluded.
