Electricity, long treated by businesses as a fixed overhead, can now be managed as a strategic cost, an option that has opened to far more Filipino enterprises with the lowering of the contestability threshold to 100 kilowatts (kW). This was the message at a forum led by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) with COREnergy, Inc., the retail electricity arm of Vivant Energy, on October 8, 2026, which gathered the Commission alongside industry representatives, business leaders, and the media.
Implemented on June 26, 2026, the new threshold ushers in Phase 4 of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) framework. Businesses with an average monthly demand of 100 to 499kW can now directly join the market and choose their own Retail Electricity Supplier (RES). Through the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP), even smaller establishments that do not yet reach the 100kW requirement can pool their demand to participate collectively. This framework allows them to explore the competitive market as a group.The threshold has steadily come down since RCOA began, from 1 megawatt (MW) in 2013 to 500kW in 2020, and now to 100kW.
Atty. Chiara Angela Blanco, Chief of the Contestable Market Division of the ERC Energy Regulation Office, relayed the message of ERC Chairman Francis Saturnino C. Juan: “The lowering of the contestability threshold to 100 kilowatts is more than a regulatory milestone, it is a milestone for Filipino consumers.”
“More Filipino electricity consumers are being given the opportunity to decide how they purchase their electricity. This is the power of choice,” Atty. Blanco added.
For Phase 4 businesses, the shift comes as rising production costs, inflation, and changing consumer demand continue to squeeze margins.
“At COREnergy, we are proud to earn the trust of Phase 4 contestable customers, businesses that are spending upwards of PHP 500,000 every single month on electricity,” said Francis del Val, President of COREnergy. “Our vision is bold: to empower customers to reach their maximum potential by driving their profitability, productivity, and performance, the COREnergy 3Ps.”
COREnergy currently serves 88 businesses across 144 accounts, representing 90.8 MW in peak capacity. Its portfolio ranges from standalone commercial and industrial (C&I) users such as DEDON Manufacturing, JEG Tower, and McDonald’s Philippines, whose 36 restaurants in Cebu and Negros Occidental include 32 smaller branches that entered the market through RAP.
Villa Escudero’s Director of Management Mr. Manuel Escudero, Commercial Property Management Division Head Mr. Danilo Escudero, and Facilities Engineering Manager Engineer Kit Mark Bautista also joined the forum and shared their experiences as a business that has chosen to work with COREnergy. Their participation provided an on-the-ground perspective on how energy decisions factor into businesses with different operating models and requirements.
Del Val said COREnergy will continue guiding newly contestable businesses through eligibility and the switching process. “Our ultimate goal is simple: to ensure no Philippine business gets left behind.”
With the 100kW threshold now in effect, more Filipino enterprises can assess their eligibility and explore whether participating in the contestable market can support their business needs—turning electricity from a fixed overhead into a cost that can be managed more strategically.
