Ancillary charges push up August power bills

POWER consumers may see higher electricity bills this August as a sharp increase in ancillary service (AS) charges pushes up transmission costs.The overall average transmission rate for the July 2026 billing period, which will be reflected in August bills, rose 22.22 percent to P1.7560 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) from P1.4367/kWh in June, according to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP).The increase was driven largely by a 30.85 percent jump in AS rates to P1.0391/kWh in July from P0.7941/kWh in June.Ancillary services are power supplies used to maintain grid stability during periods when electricity supply and demand are out of balance.NGCP’s transmission wheeling rate, or the charge for delivering electricity through the transmission grid, also increased to P0.5436/kWh in July from P0.5044/kWh in June.NGCP said it does not earn from ancillary service charges, which are pass-through costs remitted directly to generation companies with bilateral contracts with the grid operator and to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines for services sourced from the reserve market.“As system operator, NGCP’s responsibility is to ensure grid stability and reliability, especially during periods of supply-demand imbalance,” the grid operator said.NGCP said ancillary service charges account for the bulk of the overall transmission rate and that payments are remitted to service providers supplying the reserves needed to keep the power system secure and reliable. / KOC