JJ Cool retweetledi
Saw this post from Antonette Aquino on Facebook - sharing it here. This is what she said:
No, I did not leave the aircon running 24/7.
My Meralco bill came in at ₱9,791.78. So let me break it down because nobody else will.
Generation charge alone is ₱5,266.66. That’s 54% of my entire bill. Meralco’s actual cut? ₱1,730.98. And that number hasn’t moved since 2022. What keeps going up is everything sitting on top of it.
Here’s what’s actually eating your money:
System Loss — ₱486.83
You are paying for stolen electricity. Illegal connections, meter tampering, jumpers. Republic Act 7832 lets Meralco pass the cost of electricity theft straight to paying customers.
Universal Charges — ₱201.96
Part of this goes toward paying off the National Power Corporation’s debts. Old debts. From decisions made before most of us were even working.
Government Taxes — ₱989.81
The 12% VAT is not just on what you consumed. It’s stacked on top of every other charge, including the subsidies you’re already paying for. So yes, you are paying tax on stolen electricity. Tax on an old government debt. Tax on a subsidy you do not even benefit from.
FiT-All and GEA-All — ₱149.59 combined
Two separate renewable energy levies running at the same time. The second one was quietly added to bills in February 2026. Both government-mandated. Neither one is optional.
FYI..none of this is illegal. It’s all backed by law. But legal and fair are not the same thing.
The middle class does not steal electricity. We do not qualify for lifeline rates. We do not get 4Ps. We just pay full VAT, fund everyone else’s discounts, and absorb costs that should never have been ours to begin with. Every month. Without relief.
What actually needs to change:
1. Reform the generation charge. One line item cannot be more than half your bill and go unchallenged.
2. Stop passing system loss to consumers. Other countries make the utility absorb it. We should demand the same.
3. Move faster on renewables. Lower generation costs long-term. That transition is already overdue.
📸 CTTO
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