Benise Balaoing

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

A Meralco truck in Brgy. Lambakin, Marilao, Bulacan on August 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File

Article (news)

Workers clean and restore power lines

Izzy Lee

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img data-fr-image-pasted="true" src="https://od2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com/api/upload-raw/20260729090756/7d95c0ffe360b8e373640d590d3aedca7795213ce2a95a0215c21624e2713284.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A Meralco truck in Brgy. Lambakin, Marilao, Bulacan on August 20, 2024. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan on Wednesday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.&#x27;s proposed removal of system loss charges from consumers raises questions about who will bear the cost of the losses.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/7/27/marcos-wants-systems-loss-charges-removed-from-electricity-bill-rooftop-solar-made-easier-1727" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Marcos wants systems loss charges removed from electricity bill; rooftop solar made easier</a></div><p>Pangilinan said Meralco will cooperate with the government as it considers amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) following Marcos’ call to remove system loss charges from consumers’ electricity bills.</p><p>&quot;Inherent in any operation that involves transmission...will involve some losses. That&#x27;s the way it is when you push electricity throught the copper wires that will make resistance. The longer the wires are, the more the losses will be. It is not a question of inefficiency, it&#x27;s just the way it is. The real question is who bears the cost?&quot; Pangilinan said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/7/28/erc-meralco-back-marcos-push-to-remove-system-loss-charge-1205" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ERC backs push to remove system loss charge</a></div><p>&quot;If we were to say January 1, no more system losses, then that&#x27;s telling us to eat the losses arising from the system losses within our network. There are also system losses from the gate of our plant, from the grid to Meralco,&quot; he added.</p><p>Meanwhile, Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Management Jose Ronald Valles said the proposed removal of system loss charges would have to undergo the process of amending the EPIRA.</p><p>&quot;Part of that process is the solicitation of the comments and inputs from all relevant stakeholders, including distribution utilities and generation, and even the regulators the transmission sector, Department of Energy, among others,&quot; Valles said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/7/28/lawmakers-support-push-to-remove-system-loss-charge-from-electricity-bills-1313" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lawmakers support push to remove system loss charge from electricity bills</a></div><p>He added that until Meralco receives a copy of the proposed amendment, the company cannot determine its potential impact on Meralco’s operations.</p><p>&quot;So as of now, we don&#x27;t know what will come out in the final version of the amendment, so until we see that, we don&#x27;t even have a draft at the moment of that amendment. Until we see that, we cannot speculate; we cannot determine how much will be the impact of that on the operations of Meralco,&quot; he said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RuSz5GD9W4U?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WuKi_I58ViE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div>

<p>Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's proposed removal of system loss charges from consumers raises questions about who will bear the cost of the losses.</p>

Meralco Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's proposed removal of system loss charges from consumers raises questions about who will bear the cost of the losses.

Meralco on proposed system loss charge removal: Who will bear the cost?

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Meralco on proposed system loss charge removal: Who will bear the cost?

Izzy Lee,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 29, 2026 05:08 PM PHT

Read More:

Meralco

system loss

electricity

electricity bill

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