Iloilo City has the most expensive

electricity in the country, world

13 September 2010
ILOILO CITY – The Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC-Iloilo) has released a
disturbing report which shows that consumers in Iloilo City located in Region VI
- Western Visayas, in the Central Philippines, are charged with the most
expensive electricity rates, not only in the country, but also in the whole world.

According to FDC-Iloilo, for the month of August 2010 alone, a household

consumer with a total electricity consumption of 195-kilowatt-hours coughs-out
P2,525.95 for monthly bill at the per kilowatt-hour rate of P12.95.

Iloilo City is under the exclusive franchise of service of Panay Electric Company
(Meralco), considered one of the oldest private power distribution utility in the
country, and with more than 40,000 consumers.

Highest in the country

In a comparative table of rates prepared by FDC (See Table 1), it revealed that
Iloilo City is paying the most expensive household electricity if compared to the
same category of consumers located in other key cities in the Philippines like
Leyte, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao, General Santos or even in the country’s capital
Manila.

With a total of 195-kWh consumption for August month, consumers in Leyte

pays only monthly of P1,392.30 or P7.14/kWh. In Cebu, consumers pay only
P1,753.05 or P8.99/kWh while Bacolod City P1,255.00 or P6.43/kWh.

On the other hand, Davao City consumers is billed P1,339.65 or P6.87/kWh rate
while General Santos has P1,066.65 or P5.47/kWh.

In Manila, the country’s business and government center, Manila Electric

Company (Meralco), a sister company of PECO, charges its consumer a monthly
electricity of P10.00/kWh or a total monthly bill of P1,950.00.

“A simple look at the comparison of rates illustrates that electricity prices in

Iloilo City is scandalously exorbitant if compared to other key cities in the
country,” said Ted Aldwin E. Ong, chairperson of FDC-Iloilo.

“What could be the best explanation over this issue when PECO has been found
out to have overcharged consumers amounting to millions of pesos since the
1990’s and was even ordered to refund by the Energy Regulatory Commission,”
stressed Ong.
Ted Aldwin Ong underscored, that “the power utility is committing a great
injustice to the Ilonggo citizens for it has repeatedly failed to justify why its
rates is skyrocketing yet its quality of service is way below par.”

Ong was referring to the daily power outages wrapping the city since January.

The group has been criticizing PECO on the “everyday power blackout which
hampered livelihood and economic activity and diminishing putting productivity
levels to all time low while charging the same kilowatt-hour rates in spite of the
services it did not deliver to its consumers.

Highest in the world

Moreover, the group also revealed that Iloilo City is not only the highest in
terms of electricity rates in the country, but surprisingly, also in the world.

Another look at the data showing Iloilo City electricity rates versus other
developed and progressive cities in the world shows that Iloilo City has also the
highest electricity rates,” added Ong.

For instance, United States only charges P3.82/kWh, United Kingdom

P4.72/kWh, Russia P0.22/kWh, Japan Php9.63. Surprisingly, Iloilo City under
PECO has the highest.

“Our government officials starting from the President of the Republic, to our
Senators, down to our honorable Congresspersons are easy-go-lucky on the
power issue for maybe they are not aware that wherever you go in the
Philippines, we pay for the highest electricity rates compared to other citizens
of the world, especially those who are located in highly-developed nations,”
said Ong.

Disturbed about the cost of electricity in Iloilo City, retired Professor Pablo
Española of the University of the Philippines-Visayas investigated the prevailing
rates in other places in the world from the years 1994 to 2002 and was shocked
to learn about its result. (See Table 2)

According to retired Prof. Española, “although the data is at least eight years
old, the global electricity rate during those years was on a downward trend. It
shows that there is little chance rates in other countries would be much higher
today than they were during those years.”

“The data that we have gathered will be submitted to the Committee on

Transportation, Energy, and Public Utilities of the local government of the City
of Iloilo which is initiating an investigation on the issues involving the power
utility,” said Ong.
Ong likewise shared that “the same data will be submitted to the respective
committees of Energy in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the
Philippines in order to have this issue scrutinized or investigated.”

The Freedom from Debt Coalition is a campaign and advocacy organization in

the Philippines focused against the privatization of essential services and
commons; such as, power and water, and has chapters scattered in the Visayas
and Mindanao regions. -30-

Table 1. Comparative Monthly Electricity Rates Iloilo City versus other cities

Monthly
Distribution Monthly kWh Per kWh
Region City electricity
Utility consumption rate
bill

National
Manila Electric
Capital Manila 195 P10.00 P1,950.00
Co. (Meralco)
Region

Davao Light &

Region XI –
Davao City Power Co. 195 P6.87 P1,339.65
Davao Region
(Davao Light)

South Cotobato
Region XII - General
Electric
Soccsksarge Santos 195 P5.46 P1,064.70
Cooperative
n City
(Socoteco II)

Region VIII – Leyte Electric

Tacloban
Eastern Cooperative 195 P7.14 P1,392.30
City
Visayas (Leyeco)

Region VII – Cebu City Visayas Electric 195 P8.99 P1,753.05

 Central
Co. (Veco)
Visayas

Central Negros
Region VI –
Bacolod Electric
Western 195 P6.43 P1,255.00
City Cooperative
Visayas
(Ceneco)

Region VI –
Panay Electric
Western Iloilo City 195 P13.30 P2,595.95
Company (PECO)
Visayas

NOTE: Data generated from August 2010 Monthly Electricity Bill by PECO

Table 2. Global Electricity Rates versus Iloilo City

Peso
Country
equivalent/kWh

OECD 4.72

OECD Europe 4.81

Argentina 3.87

Australia 3.60

Austria 5.35

Barbados 9.18

Belgium 5.94
Bolivia 2.97

Brazil 5.76

Canada 2.70

Chile 3.87

China 1.53

Chinese Taipei
3.37
(Taiwan)

Colombia 2.88

Costa Rica 2.92

Cuba 6.03

Czech Republic 3.42

Denmark 9.40

Dominican Republic 3.91

Ecuador 2.47

El Salvador 3.69

Finland 3.82

France 4.59

Germany 5.58

Grenada 10.03

Greece 3.46

Guatemala 3.55

Guyana 2.70

Haiti 3.06

Honduras 3.42

Hungary 3.60

India 1.75

Indonesia 1.12

Ireland 4.27
Italy 6.07

Jamaica 6.57

Japan 9.63

Kazakhstan 1.17

Korea (South Korea) 3.19

Luxembourg 5.04

Mexico 3.37

Netherlands 6.97

New Zealand 2.88

Nicaragua 5.31

Norway 3.19

Panama 5.44

Paraguay 2.83

Philippines (Iloilo
12.56
City)

Peru 4.50

Poland 3.78

Portugal 5.71

Romania 1.62

Russia 0.22

Slovak Republic
2.83
(Slovakia)

South Africa 1.71

Spain 4.90

Surinam (Suriname) 7.69

Sweden 4.54

Switzerland 5.26

Thailand 2.70

Trinidad and Tobago 1.26

 Turkey 4.23

United Kingdom 4.72

United States 3.82

Uruguay 6.16

Venezuela 2.16

NOTE: The data was prepared by retired Professor Pablo Española of the
University of the Philippines-Visayas and shared to FDC-Iloilo. The rates were
converted using the exchange rate of 1.00 US Dollar = 44.99 Philippine Peso.
This data generated spanned the years 1994-2002, except for Iloilo City,
Philippines, which was taken from the billing month of July, 2010, issued by
Panay Electric Company (PECO).

Freedom from Debt Coalition – Iloilo Chapter

No. 185 Jereos St., La Paz District, 5000 Iloilo City
Office Telephone: (63-33) 508-2028; Email: fdc.iloilochapter@yahoo.com

Contact Person:
Ted Aldwin E. Ong, chairperson @ +63.919.930.8908