Net Metering in the Philippines: How It Actually Works With Meralco
There’s one number in the whole net-metering conversation that decides whether your solar system is sized right, and it’s the number most people — including a few salesmen — get wrong. Start there.
Exports do NOT earn the retail rate
You pay Meralco about ₱14.74 per kWh, all-in. When your roof pushes surplus power back to the grid, you get credited at the blended generation cost: around ₱5.00 to ₱6.50 per kWh, moving month to month.
Why the gap? Your retail rate stacks generation, transmission, distribution, system loss, and taxes. The export credit only covers the generation slice, because Meralco still pays for the wires that bring power back to you at night. Fair enough, honestly. But it means:
A kWh you use is worth more than two kWh you sell.
Every sizing decision flows from that sentence. A system matched to your daytime consumption beats a bigger one that exports its surplus at ₱6. When a proposal justifies extra panels “because net metering pays for them” — it pays ₱6, not ₱14.74, and the payback calculator will show you exactly what that does to the break-even year.
How the credits actually flow
A bi-directional meter counts what goes out; the peso credit appears on your next bill and offsets your charges. It never converts to cash. Build up a big surplus and you’ve made an interest-free loan to your own future bills — another quiet argument against oversizing.
The paperwork, honestly
Net metering came out of RA 9513 (the Renewable Energy Act) and it’s a real, functioning program — up to 100 kW qualifies, which your roof is nowhere near. The sequence:
- Your installer files the application with your system specs.
- A distribution impact study — for house-scale systems, quick or waived.
- Meter swap to bi-directional, one-time fee.
- Sign the connection agreement; credits start next billing cycle.
Weeks, not days, and it varies by city. A competent installer handles all of it — confirm it’s inside the quote before signing (what belongs in a quote).
Worth it?
Yes. The credit is small per kWh, but it’s pure upside on electrons you’d otherwise donate to the grid for free, and the meter is a one-time cost. Just size for your daytime life, take the ₱6 as a bonus, and ignore anyone who does the math the other way around.