Arya News - Despite abundant sunshine, fossil fuels have long dominated the Philippines` power grid. Now, soaring electricity costs and global supply shocks are driving a rooftop solar boom across the country.
MANILA – Situated squarely within the tropical solar belt, the Philippines receives an average of 4.5 to 5.5 kilowatt-hours of solar radiation per square meter per day. Yet, fossil fuels continue to dominate the nation’s power grid, with coal alone generating roughly 62% of its electricity, according to Department of Energy data cited by engineering firm REURASIA .
Structural, financial, and policy bottlenecks kept solar on the margins, and it still accounts for under 4 percent of national power consumption, according to government data.
Then the US-Iran war, which began in late February, disrupted global fuel supplies and pushed up electricity prices. Meralco, the country’s largest distributor, has raised its rates by 10 percent since the conflict began. Filipinos responded by installing solar panels on their roofs.
A June 28 Reuters report , citing Chinese trade data, found that the Philippines has been the world’s biggest spender on solar panels since the war started. Panel imports reached $407 million in the three months through May, up 145 percent from a year earlier.
Why solar took so long
The sluggish pivot to solar was not due to a lack of sunshine or advocacy. It stemmed from how the power sector is built. The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 largely privatised the industry and split it into generation, transmission, distribution, and supply. The law aimed to encourage competition, but it also created a fragmented system. Clean energy advocates must negotiate with dozens of private power producers, grid operators, and more than 120 electric cooperatives and other distribution utilities.
Renewable energy advocate Philline van der Wolk-Donggay tells Asia News Network (ANN) that local governments supported early roadmaps, such as the 2012 Renewable Energy Pathways. The privatised market, however, was not yet ready for a full-scale clean energy transition.
Regional gaps persisted. Mindanao, for instance, has historically had among the country’s lowest electrification rates. Mindanao Goes Solar , which van der Wolk-Donggay leads, was formed to address this by organising local solar providers and teaching consumers about systems that can be installed quickly. With the rush underway, she says, “Mindanao is ready.”
Mindanao Goes Solar’s caravan in SM City Davao, Davao City, Philippines.
PHOTO FROM MINDANAO SOLAR
Persistent hurdles
Beyond market fragmentation, the main hurdle for households and small businesses is the high upfront cost of panels, inverters, and batteries. While conglomerates easily secure corporate financing for utility-scale developments, average Filipino families have few green loan options. Van der Wolk-Donggay notes that an equitable transition requires financing tailored to those unable to bear high initial costs.
“Imagine if the Philippines had loan products targeting the average Filipino to purchase solar as much as we have loan products targeting Filipinos to purchase motorcycles and scooters. That is the dream,” she tells ANN, noting that recent finance-sector developments reflect growing interest in solar.
Meanwhile, rooftop solar economics are rapidly improving. A report by global energy think tank Ember reveals that loan payback periods have dropped from four years to 3.1 years. Ember argues that shorter payback times, volatile electricity prices, and recent policy shifts make mass adoption increasingly viable—envisioning rooftop solar scaling up to 3,500 MW with batteries within 24 months, matching the scale of Meralco’s flagship Terra Solar project.
To achieve this, the report outlines three key policy moves: accessible loan schemes, simplified rules for plug-and-play systems, and government-backed battery infrastructure. Together, these measures would lower consumer costs, bolster grid reliability, and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. While faster renewable energy auctions will help avert future energy crises, rooftop solar offers a far quicker path to security.
Energy democracy
Filipino households pay some of the highest electricity rates in Southeast Asia, driven by dependence on imported coal and gas and compounded by a weakening peso. In June 2026, the nationwide average reached P12.43 (about US$0.20) per kWh, the highest in ASEAN and slightly above Singapore’s, according to the DOE . The DOE attributed the June spike largely to tight supply in the Visayas, which forced the grid to rely on costlier plants. It also warned that renewed Middle East hostilities could push fuel prices and bills even higher.
Solar photovoltaic technology reduces this exposure by decoupling electricity generation from volatile global commodity markets. Van der Wolk-Donggay says the best thing about solar, and what mainstream media should discuss more, is “energy democracy”: the ability to produce your own electricity without relying on imported fossil fuels whose supply and prices swing. Paired with storage, she says, solar offers freedom from ever-rising rates.
She adds that solar also builds resilience against geopolitical shocks, extreme weather, and natural disasters. This independence extends from households and small businesses to cities, municipalities, and nations, and ultimately to the global scale.
Mindanao Goes Solar’s caravan in SM Downtown, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines.
PHOTO FROM MINDANAO SOLAR
Promoting and sustaining the rush
Turning emergency adoption into lasting energy independence will take policy reform. The “ Sayang Ang Araw: Gawing Mura ang Solar ” campaign (roughly translated to “The sun is going to waste: Make solar affordable”) is calling on the national government to exempt solar equipment from value-added tax. That includes panels, batteries, and inverters for homes and small businesses. Cheaper equipment for installers means lower installation costs for consumers.
Mindanao Goes Solar also continues to promote solar power across the region through Bisaya-language campaigns, broadcasts, and remote community outreach, alongside city expos connecting consumers directly with providers. The organisation, for instance, has slated roadshows from October 23 to 25 at SM City Mindpro and SM City Zamboanga in Zamboanga City, as well as SM City Butuan in Butuan City .
Beyond public outreach, the initiative helps emerging local solar businesses professionalise, maintains a directory of verified installers, and collaborates with banks and policymakers to streamline solar financing and net metering.
At the national level, van der Wolk-Donggay argues the government should prioritise indigenous energy by pairing solar with wind, hydro, and geothermal. “Combinations of these renewable energy sources for electricity production can dramatically reduce electricity prices for Filipinos,” she says.
“Right now we have some of the highest electricity rates in Asia—easing the burden of households and businesses on something so basic as energy will reap great economic and societal rewards for the country moving forward.”