Davao Light customers can look forward to a lower bill this month as the overall residential electricity rate dropped by P0.5867 per kilowatt hour (kWh) bringing the rate down to P8.4027/kWh from P8.9894/kWh last January. This rate applies to the billing period of February 11 to March 11, 2025.
The adjustment is primarily due to a decrease in the generation charge brought about by lower market prices from the Philippine Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) – a venue for trading electricity as a commodity – where Davao Light sources a part of its power requirement. The decrease is also attributed to the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) Resolution No. 18, Series of 2024, which requires private distribution utilities to issue a one-time refund from previously approved, collected but unused Regulatory Reset Experts Cost. For Davao Light, the one-time refund is P0.1101/kWh which is reflected as a separate item in the bill.
Moreover, starting in February 2025, Davao Light will no longer collect the Regulatory Reset Experts Cost, resulting in a reduction of P0.0010/kWh in monthly bills moving forward.
Even with the drop in rate, Davao Light reminds customers that the monthly bill is affected by two factors – monthly rate and power consumption. The market pricing of power supply dictates the former while the customer controls the latter. When consumption is high, it will result in a high electricity bill.
Davao Light encourages customers to apply energy efficiency to avoid high electricity bills. “It is best to check on one’s daily electricity use to see where energy efficiency and conservation can be applied,” explains Davao Light Marketing and Communications Department Head Fermin Edillon.
“For instance, if unused appliances or gadgets are still plugged in, let us make it a habit to unplug them. Even when switched off but in standby mode or still plugged in, these consume power however negligible the power they draw. Over time, these can add up to our monthly bill,” Edillon added.
The complete monthly rates are available at www.davaolight.com.
Davao Light is the country’s third largest privately-owned electric distribution utility in terms of customer size and annual kWh sales. Its franchise area covers the cities of Davao and Panabo and the municipalities of Carmen, Dujali, and Sto. Tomas in Davao del Norte, with a population of approximately 2.3 million and a total area of 3,561 sq. kms.
