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Republic of the Philippines
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
(Kagawaran ng Enerhiya)

DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO. OC20I8- 09- 0026 &-

ADOPTING FRAMEWORK FOR
UNIFORM MONTHLY ELECTRICITY BILL FORMAT

WHEREAS, Section 2 of Republic Act No. 9136, otherwise known as the “Electric
Power Industry Reform Act of 2001” or “EPIRA”, declares as policy of the State, among
others:

a) to ensure transparent and reasonable prices of electricity in a regime of free
and fair competition and full public accountability to achieve greater
operational and economic efficiency and enhance the competitiveness of
Philippine products in the global market; and

b) to protect the public interest as it is affected by the rates and services of
electric utilities and other providers of electric power;

WHEREAS, Section 37 of the EPIRA mandates the DOE to supervise the restructuring
of the electric power industry and provide policy direction on the deregulation of the
power and energy industry and formulate such rules and regulations as may be
necessary to implement the objectives of the Act;

WHEREAS, Section 25 of the EPIRA states that the retail rates charged by Distribution
Utilities (DUs) for the supply of electricity in their captive market shall be subject to
regulation by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) based on the principle of full
recovery of prudent and reasonable economic costs incurred, or such other principles
that will promote efficiency as may be determined by the ERC. Every DU shall identify
and segregate in its bills to end-users the components of the retail rate.

WHEREAS, Section 4 (ss) of the EPIRA defines Retail Rate as the total price paid by
end-users consisting of the charges for generation, transmission and related ancillary
services, distribution, supply and other related charges for electric service;

WHEREAS, Section 29 of the EPIRA states that every Supplier shall identify and
segregate the components of its supplier's charge, as defined in the EPIRA.

WHEREAS, the collection of bill deposit from consumers has been authorized by the
Board of Power and Waterworks (BPW) and later, the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB),
which was subsequently adopted by the ERC through the Magna Carta for Residential
Electricity Consumers and ERC Resolution No.2, Series of 2010, entitled "A Resolution
Adopting the Amendments to the Distribution Services and Open Access Rules
(DSOAR)" providing for the rules governing the implementation of the bill deposit
collected from residential and non-residential consumers;

WHEREAS, the DOE recognizes the need to empower electricity end-users with
greater understanding and transparency on the charges in its monthly electricity bill by
unbundling the electricity charge components including those components that are
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not part of the unbundled rates but were collected from the consumers for security and
reliability of services;

WHEREAS, the DOE conducted Public Consultations on the proposed Department
Circular on the following dates and venues:

Mandaluyong Cit
June 13, 2018 | General Santos Cit
Cebu City, Cebu
Puerto Princesa, Palawan

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the foregoing premises, principles and
mandates of the EPIRA, the DOE hereby issues, adopts and promulgates the following
policy to ensure greater transparency in the billing and charges of DUs to the Electricity
End-users for the greater protection of public interest:

Section 1. Guiding Principles. The following principles shall be observed:

1.1. The electricity bill shall reflect all corresponding charges collected from all
electricity end-users including but not limited to generation, transmission and
ancillary services, distribution, supply and metering charges, universal charges
and bill deposits, including interest thereon and any other charges that the ERC
may approve to be collected from the electricity end-users, subject to the rules
and regulations that the ERC may promulgate:

1.2. Except for competitive services components such as generation and supply, no
charges shall be reflected in the bill and collected from the electricity end-users
without the approval of the ERC;

1.3. All entities issuing electricity bills shall use a uniform bill format as may be
prescribed by the ERC;

1.4. The electricity bill shall be prepared in a simple and easy to understand format;
and

1.5. The individual electricity end-user, upon request, shall have access to his
electricity bill records and other details related thereto, including receipts within a
reasonable time and at no cost to the end-user.

Section 2. Scope. This Circular shall apply to the following:

2.1. Privately-Owned Distribution Utilities;

2.2. Electric Cooperatives;

2.3. Local Government Owned Utilities:

2.4. Entities authorized to operate within Economic Zones; and

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2.5. Other entities authorized by law to distribute and/or supply electricity to end-
users, such as but not limited to Qualified Third Parties, and Retail Electricity

Suppliers.

Section 3. Rate Components on Electricity Bill. All electricity end-user bills issued
by the entities enumerated under Section 2 herein shall reflect the unbundled costs of
providing each service or product and shall at the very least contain the following:

3.1. Generation Charge. The Generation Charge is a pass-through blended cost of
electricity generated by Generation Companies based on Bilateral Supply
Contracts and spot purchases.

3.2. Transmission Charge. The Transmission Charge is the regulated cost for the use
of transmission system for the delivery of electricity from generators to
distribution system. It also includes the ancillary services charges. Ancillary
Services refer to those services that are necessary to support the transmission of
capacity and energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable operation
of the transmission system in accordance with good utility practice and the
Philippine Grid Code.

The costs of Ancillary Services, as identified and approved by the ERC, shall be
reflected in the bill;

3.3. System Loss Charge. The System Loss Charge represents the sum of
recoverable cost for technical and non-technical losses. Technical Loss refers to
the power dissipated in the distribution system and non-technical losses refers to
the losses due to pilferages, metering inaccuracies, non-metered and/or human
error.

3.4. Distribution Charge. The Distribution Charge is a regulated cost imposed by the
DU for its services, and the following components of the distribution charge shall
be listed in the bill separately:

3.4.1. Distribution System Charge which covers the cost of developing, building,
operating and maintaining the distribution system, which brings power
from high voltage transmission grids to the end-users;

3.4.2. Supply Charge which covers the cost of rendering service to customers,
such as customer assistance, billing, collection, power sourcing and other
related activities;

3.4.3. Metering Charge which covers the cost of reading, operating and
maintaining power metering facilities; and

3.4.4. All other charges and adjustments as may be approved by the ERC;

3.5. Subsidies/Discounts. The following Subsidies/Discounts, whichever is applicable,
shall be listed in the bill separately:

3.5.1. Lifeline Subsidy which is the cost of discount availed by Lifeline

Customers, referring to marginalized captive market end-users which
qualified to avail of the Lifeline Rate, as determined by the ERC;

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3.5.2.

3.5.3.

3.5.4.

3.5.5.

Lifeline Discount which is the cost of subsidy collected from Subsidizing
End-Users;

Senior Citizen Subsidy which is the amount of discount availed by Senior
Citizen End-users;

Senior Citizen Discount which is the amount of subsidy collected from
Subsidizing End-Users; and

All other subsidies and discounts that the law may provide.

The Senior Citizen Subsidy/Discount shall be pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994
and relevant guidelines issued by the ERC.

3.6. Government Taxes. The following Government Taxes shall be listed in the bill
separately:

3.6.1.

3.6.2.

3.6.3.

Local Franchise Tax which is levied by provinces and cities for business
enjoying a franchise, and paid to local government units, in accordance
with the Local Government Code;

Value Added Tax which is the consumption tax imposed on the sale of
electricity and related services, in accordance with relevant tax laws; and

All other taxes provided by law.

3.7. Universal Charges. The following components of the Universal Charge shall be
listed in the bill separately:

SA.

3.7.2.

3.7.3.

3.7.4.

3.7.5.

Missionary Electrification for National Power Corporation Small Power
Utilities Group (NPC-SPUG) which is a charge to fund the electrification
of remote and unviable areas, as well as areas not connected to the
transmission system;

Missionary Electrification for Renewable Energy Developers’ Cash
Incentive (REDCI) which is a charge to provide cash incentive to eligible
renewable energy developers operating in missionary areas;

Environmental Charge which is charge to fund used for watershed
rehabilitation and management;

National Power Corporation (NPC) Stranded Debt which is a charge to
fund financial obligations of NPC which cannot be covered by the
proceeds from the sales and privatization of NPC assets; and

NPC Stranded Contract Cost which is a charge to fund contracted cost of
electricity under eligible IPP contracts of NPC that cannot be covered by
privatization proceeds and revenues generated out of the contracted
energy output.

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3.8.

3.9.

Feed-In-Tariff Allowance. The Feed-In-Tariff Allowance is a uniform charge in
PhP/kWh, collected from all on-grid electricity End-users to support the annual
requirements of the Feed-in Tariff Program pursuant to Republic Act No. 9513 or
the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Other Charges. Other Charges refers to other charges not classified in any of the
charges identified herein but are nevertheless collected from the electricity end-
users.

Section 4. Additional Information on the Electricity Bill. In addition to the detailed
charges identified in Section 3 hereof, the electricity bill shall also reflect the following
information:

4.1.

4.2.

4.3.

4.4.

4.5.

Customer Account Information. This refers to the key details of the electricity
end-user which includes the Customer's Name, Account Number, Service
Identification Number or Meter Serial and Company Number, Customer's
Classification, Service Address, Bill Deposit and date of payments when the Bill
Deposit was paid by the electricity end-user, and updates on bill deposits
including interests earned.

Bill Deposit, including interests and adjustments, refers to the amount required
from the customers for new and/or additional service, including interests and
adjustments thereon that are charged as a result from increase or decrease of
electricity consumption.

Interest Bill Deposit refers to the accumulated amount due to the Bill Deposit
withheld by the entities issuing the electricity bill, which shall be credited to the
customers.

Billing Summary. The Billing Summary refers to the snapshot of the bill, including
the previous charges and balance, payments, current charges on the billing
period, period covered by the current billing, total amount due, due date, the total
consumption for the billing month, the date the bill was issued, the date the meter
was read, and the date of the next meter reading.

Message Center. The Message Center refers to the general and account-specific
information which shall appear in the bill, including the adjustments or
corrections, payment overdue and/or termination notices.

Customer Care. The Customer Care refers to the hotline numbers, e-mail
address, website, social media accounts/pages, and/or address for customers to
reach the Entity issuing the bill regarding questions or concerns by the
Customers. It also includes the notice stating that all disputes that cannot be
settled can be elevated to the ERC. The ERC contact number and email address
for the Consumer Affairs Service shall be provided.

Payment Slip. The Payment Slip refers to the slip that should be returned with
the customer's payment. If the customers are enrolled in the Direct Payment
Plan, the customer shall find a receipt for the automatic payment in this spot.

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4.6. Summary of Electricity Charges. The Summary of Electricity Charges refers to
the summary of charges, including the percentage share for the following:
Generation, Transmission including Ancillary, Distribution, System Loss,
Subsidies/Discount, Government Taxes, Universal Charges, Feed-in-Tariff
Allowance, and other Charges.

4.7. Billing Details. The Billing Details refer to the details of all components of
electricity charges including base consumption, price per component, and total
amount per component including monthly fixed charges.

4.8. Electricity Consumption Graph. The Electricity Consumption Graph refers to the
monthly electricity consumption for the past thirteen (13) month period.

Section 5. E-Billing. Electronic copies of the electricity bill of an end-user may, at
the customer’s option, be made available and accessible by the entity issuing the
electricity bill concerned thru its website or by any other electronic means, in
accordance with the applicable rules of the ERC.

Section 6. Information Center. All regulated entities issuing the electricity bill shall
post the following in conspicuous areas in their offices, website and/or official social
media account/page:

6.1. Components of its monthly rate schedule per customer class as duly approved
by the ERC;

6.2. Details and computation of monthly rate adjustments; and
6.3. Description of each charge reflected on the monthly electricity bill.

Section 7. Regulatory Support. The ERC shall promulgate within one hundred
twenty (120) days from the Effectivity of this Circular, the necessary regulatory
issuances for the implementation of the policy set herein.

Section 8. Separability Clause. If for any reason, any section or provision of this
Circular is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof
which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 9. Repealing Clause. All issuances inconsistent with the provisions of this
Circular are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

Section 10. Effectivity. This Circular shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
complete publication in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation and certified
true copies thereof shall be filed with the University of the Philippines Law Center.

Issued on at Energy Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

a Republic of the Philippines
QL ePARTMENT OF ENERGY
IN REPLYING PLS. CITE Soe
-AGC-180109 . CU

Aug 24 2013 =~ inn ecretary

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