Unplugged and Unaffordable: The Ever-increasing Drain on the Working Class

By J.D.

Every time you look at a receipt or pay a monthly bill right now, the numbers look higher. It is not just your imagination. Across the Philippines, the cost of electricity and fuel is climbing rapidly. Managing a household budget has become incredibly stressful for ordinary Filipino families. A large part of our hard-earned income is now swallowed up just by keeping the lights on and traveling to work. If you live in Metro Manila, your May electric bill from Meralco had a very small rollback because of government-ordered refunds. However, power experts are warning that this relief is officially over.

A major electricity rate hike is expected in June. The reason for the upcoming surge comes
back to the intense summer heatwaves. On May 14, electricity use in Luzon hit an all-time
record of 14,374 Megawatts. Everyone turned on air conditioners and fans at the exact same time to cope with the scorching heat. Because demand was so high, the national grid suffered a long series of Red and Yellow Alerts. When our regular power plants cannot produce enough electricity, power distributors are forced to buy emergency electricity from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.During the hottest hours of the alerts, electricity prices on the spot market skyrocketed to a painful ₱32 per kilowatt-hour. In June, those expensive market costs will be passed down directly to consumers.

The situation at the gas station is just as difficult. Oil companies just announced another big round of pump price hikes. This marks the fifth straight week that gasoline prices have gone up, and the second straight week for diesel. Gasoline increased by ₱1.60 per liter. Diesel increased by ₱1.96 per liter. Kerosene increased by ₱1.45 per liter. Why is gas getting so expensive? Two massive forces are working together to drive up the prices. First, global oil markets are incredibly tight right now. Europe has reduced its fuel production, and Asia is sending its oil supplies elsewhere to meet high summer demand in the United States. Second, the Philippine Peso has weakened significantly against the US Dollar. Because our country imports almost all of its oil, we have to buy it using dollars. When the Peso is weak, it automatically costs more pesos to import the exact same barrel of crude oil.

High fuel and utility prices do not stay at the gas station or inside your electric meter. They create a massive domino effect that touches every single part of the local economy. In the public transport sector, jeepney and tricycle drivers take home less pay after refueling their vehicles. For delivery services, delivery riders watch their daily earnings disappear into their gas tanks. Supermarkets and public markets also raise their prices because transporting goods across the country costs much more.

When diesel and gasoline prices go up, it costs more for delivery trucks to move rice, vegetables, and canned goods from the provinces to city markets. To cover those risingtransportation expenses, vendors are forced to raise the retail prices of everyday food items. This means that a spike in global crude oil eventually changes the price of the food on your dinner table. The burden multiplies for minimum wage earners who cannot easily ask for higher pay to match these daily changes.

With no permanent price drops in sight, Filipinos are looking for ways to cushion the heavy blow. The government has expanded its Fuel Subsidy Program under the UPLIFT project to help. Eligible jeepney and UV Express drivers can now receive up to ₱1,500 per week for three months to help them survive the high pump prices. Additionally, low-income households consuming less than 50 kilowatt-hours of electricity can apply for a 100% lifeline discount on their power bills.

For ordinary households, surviving this stretch means practicing strict energy habits every day. Families are unplugging appliances when they are not in use. They are ironing large batches of clothes all at once instead of doing it daily. Many households are also using electric fans on strict timers to manage their hourly consumption. Until global oil markets settle down and the summer heatwaves ease up, budgeting carefully and saving energy are the best shields we have against the rising cost of living.