(Photo by PNA)
MANILA – The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is encouraging more electricity consumers, including residential households, to participate in the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) program to potentially reduce power expenses and gain greater freedom in choosing electricity suppliers.
During a briefing Thursday, ERC Energy Regulation Office Contestable Market Division chief Chiara Angela Blanco said the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP), a component of RCOA, has attracted 311 groups comprising 4,997 members nationwide, with a combined electricity demand of approximately 250.01 megawatts.
The program allows qualified electricity consumers to combine their power requirements and negotiate competitive rates with retail electricity suppliers instead of relying solely on their existing distribution utilities.
Blanco explained that the eligibility threshold for participation has been progressively lowered to allow more consumers to enter the competitive electricity market.
The initial threshold was set at 1 megawatt in 2013 before being reduced to 500 kilowatts in 2020 and further lowered to 100 kilowatts in June 2026.
She emphasized that the program is no longer limited to commercial establishments, as residential consumers may also participate by pooling their electricity demand to meet the required threshold.
Blanco said the ERC has not established a specific enrollment target for the year because participation remains voluntary.
Instead, the commission is focusing on educating consumers about the program and expanding access to households and businesses with lower electricity requirements.
“That’s why we are talking to our customers, educating them for them to know about the program and to take advantage of it,” Blanco said.
“Our target is really opening up the market to other lower-threshold customers for them to be able to participate,” she added.
Meanwhile, COREnergy Inc. president Francis del Val said consumers participating in RAP could achieve electricity cost savings of up to 30 percent compared with the rates charged by their current distribution utilities.
Del Val noted that some customers became more willing to join after learning that the program operates under government regulation.
He also highlighted the potential for thousands of additional electricity consumers to qualify for retail competition in the coming months as the market becomes more accessible.
“That is a very, very big opportunity, and it also signifies a very big need,” he said.
Del Val stressed that helping businesses reduce electricity expenses is particularly important amid economic challenges and rising operating costs.
The ERC continues to promote retail electricity competition as a means of providing consumers with more choices, encouraging competitive pricing and improving access to potentially lower power rates.
