Photo credit: Meralco

Consumer advocacy group CitizenWatch has welcomed Meralco’s announcement of a reduction in electricity rates this December but said Filipino households could have enjoyed even bigger savings if a key energy law had been fully implemented.

Earlier, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) said power rates would go down by P0.3557 per kilowatt-hour this month. For residential customers consuming around 200 kilowatt-hours, this translates to an estimated savings of about P71—a timely relief for many families as prices of basic goods continue to rise during the holiday season.

Despite this positive development, CitizenWatch stressed that electricity bills could have been reduced further had the government properly enforced provisions of Republic Act No. 12120, or the Philippine Natural Gas Industry Development Act. In particular, the group pointed to the law’s VAT exemption on electricity generated from indigenous natural gas, which remains unimplemented eight months after the effectivity of its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

The group cited a resolution filed in the House of Representatives calling on the Committee on Energy to look into the delay. According to the resolution, residential consumers could have saved an additional P42 per month if the VAT exemption had already been applied.

CitizenWatch urged concerned government agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to act swiftly and ensure that the law is enforced as intended.

“Every peso counts for households, and proper implementation of existing laws is essential to truly ease the burden of electricity costs for all Filipinos,” the group said.

The advocacy group emphasized that timely action from regulators would allow consumers to fully benefit from lower power generation costs and provide much-needed financial relief to Filipino families.