A Philippine consumer group questioned the Department of Energy’s move to push ahead with a natural gas power auction while regulators were still consulting the public on how electricity under the program would be priced.
The Power for People Coalition said the policy could expose consumers nationwide to high electricity costs by requiring distribution utilities and electric cooperatives to source their midmerit power needs during the daytime and early evening from gas-fired plants.
P4P convenor Gerry Arances said the auction would have “long-lasting effects on national energy affordability and security,” as well as consequences for the environment and the country’s climate commitments.
“The DOE should not cut corners and wave away these concerns,” Arances said.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin signed the terms of reference for the auction on Aug. 24, the same day the Energy Regulatory Commission held a public consultation on the methodology for setting prices under the scheme.
Arances questioned why the DOE had already issued the terms while the ERC was “still in the middle of conducting public consultations on rate setting.”
“Why the rush, and who stands to benefit from this policy?” he said.
The coalition also raised concerns over the timing of the auction as gas-fired generation costs remain high amid expensive international gas prices.
P4P said all four gas plants with power supply contracts with Meralco recorded generation rates of P10.67 to P13 per kilowatt-hour in August 2026.
Arances blamed gas plants for Meralco residential rates exceeding P14 per kWh and warned against extending the same dependence to consumers in other parts of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
“It is outrageous that they now want to import this to consumers in Visayas, Mindanao, and non-Meralco franchise areas in Luzon – tying consumers to high electricity prices from gas for decades,” he said.
Arances said the policy was being advanced “instead of really making way for massive new renewable energy capacities set to also come in in a matter of months or years.”
