A consumer advocacy group in Cebu is making an urgent plea to power distributors, demanding they stop any planned rate hikes and guarantee a stable electricity supply throughout the Christmas season. The group warns that soaring utility bills are pushing family budgets to their absolute limit.
Families Forced to Choose Between Bills and Basics
The Cebu Electricity Rights Advocates (Cera) highlighted a dire situation where many households are now facing impossible choices. With both water and electricity rates climbing toward the end of 2025, families are being squeezed to decide between paying their utility bills and covering other fundamental needs.
"As Cebuanos prepare for the holidays, we are seeing a heartbreaking reality," stated Nathaniel Chua, convenor of Cera. "With water and power rates rising at the same time, our people are at breaking point."
Specific Rate Hikes Adding to Holiday Burden
Cera provided concrete figures on the recent increases. The Metropolitan Cebu Water District raised its rates by 12 percent, effective October 1, 2025. This adds approximately P56 more per month for a typical household using 21 cubic meters of water.
Simultaneously, the Cebu Electric Cooperative III increased residential power rates in December by about P0.47 per kilowatt-hour. This additional expense comes at the worst possible time—during the peak holiday period when energy consumption and other costs are already high.
Calls for Action: Moratoriums and Reliable Service
Following a year plagued by power interruptions and an unstable grid, Cera is pushing for a "zero-outage" Christmas season alongside a temporary freeze on rates. The group also cautioned that bills could face further pressure from volatile generation charges and high prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.
Cera outlined several critical demands for utility companies:
- Pre-position maintenance crews for rapid response to faults.
- Ensure clear and transparent disclosure of all pass-through charges on bills.
- Prioritize power lines that serve essential facilities like hospitals and water pumping stations.
- Implement more equitable service restoration between urban centers and outlying areas.
Looking ahead, the group appealed for utilities to suspend any planned rate adjustments in the first quarter of 2026. They also called for a temporary moratorium on disconnections for low-income households until the end of January 2026, noting that informal workers are among the hardest hit by the rising cost of living.
