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Workers clear out debris and replace electric lines and posts knocked down by a ten-wheeler truck through a domino effect in Brgy. Lambakin, Marilao, Bulacan on August 20, 2024. The Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) aims to restore power to around 700 homes affected by the incident within the day. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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Workers clean and restore power lines

Jekki Pascual

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Power utility firm Meralco is expecting rate hikes in the coming months due to inflationary pressures brought by the Middle East conflict sparked by attacks on Iran by the US and Israel. This, even if Meralco does not source energy from oil-fired power plants.Meralco Vice President and Head of Utility Economics Larry Fernandez said Meralco sources about 60 percent of energy from natural gas. Half of that is from Malampaya while the other half from imported liquefied natural gas.The remaining 40 percent comes from coal-fired power plants, renewable energy, and the wholesale electricity spot market.But the conflict in the Middle East is creating inflationary pressures in the energy sector, not just on oil or fuel.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/3/ltfrb-provisional-fare-hike-possible-if-diesel-prices-hit-p60-liter-1131" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Provisional fare hike possible if diesel hits P60/liter amid Middle East war—LTFRB</a></div>“Ang concern lang natin is the price of the gas is based on world market prices. So ang pagalaw ng presyo ng Malampaya ay depende rin sa presyo ng oil prices sa mundo… Kung tumaas ang Dubai crude oil price sa global market, merong pressure for the price of Malampaya to increase,” he said.Fernandez added, “Coal — while it is not directly from the Middle East area — because it is a source of energy, may pressure rin tumaas ang coal prices in the world market.”<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/3/3/doe-warns-of-weekly-oil-price-hikes-as-oil-prices-soar-1020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DOE warns of weekly oil price hikes as oil prices soar</a></div>He added that they source energy from coal plants that get coal from Indonesia, and from LNG firms that get LNG from Malaysia and Australia.Meralco assures the public that there will be enough power supply, even during the upcoming summer season when power consumption goes up.“We will make sure we will be able to provide to all our customers… Continuously push energy efficiency and energy saving practices,” said Meralco Spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga.Meralco hopes the conflict will end soon. They noted that during the conflict last year, there was also a price increase, but when the conflict eased, the prices of power also stabilized.In a separate social media post, Meralco chairman Manny V. Pangilinan said the mandate for the firm is also to help protect consumers as cost of goods rises globally. &quot;It would also help if we’re mindful of our electricity consumption as the war in the Middle East continues. We import much of the fuel used to generate power—we can all help to have enough power to get through the next few weeks if we conserve power,&quot; he said.

Bad news for consumers--Meralco is expecting possible rate hikes because of inflationary pressures brought by the Middle East conflict.

Bad news for consumers--Meralco is expecting possible rate hikes because of inflationary pressures brought by the Middle East conflict.

Meralco: Middle East conflict may affect power rates

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Meralco: Middle East conflict may affect power rates

Jekki Pascual,

ABS-CBN News

Published March 04, 2026 02:42 PM PHT

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Updated March 04, 2026 03:07 PM PHT

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Meralco

power rates

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