ERC: EV-to-grid rules on target this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is on track to finalize a regulatory framework this year that would allow electric vehicle (EV) owners to sell electricity back to the grid and earn credits on their power bills. The ERC is developing a vehicle-to-grid framework that will allow EVs to drive green mobility on national roads while reinforcing the country’s electrical superhighway. “We’re hoping to come up with the rules this year,” ERC director for market operations service Sharon Montañer said on the sidelines of a BusinessWorld forum, noting that the guidelines would still undergo public consultation before promulgation. While details are not yet final, Montañer said the framework could follow a model similar to net metering, which enables consumers to export excess electricity from renewable energy systems to offset their power bills. In a vehicle-to-grid arrangement, however, it would be the electricity stored in EV batteries that could be sold back to the grid when not in use. “For vehicle-to-grid, you will transmit the electricity to your distribution utility (DU), similar to net metering. We are still studying it because it is new,” Montañer said. This differs from vehicle-to-load, where EVs are used as mobile power sources for external devices and appliances such as lights, fans and televisions, particularly during blackouts. The completion of the vehicle-to-grid rules is critical as they will serve as a key component of the EV regulatory framework that the ERC plans to issue this year. Under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, the ERC is mandated to regulate the rates charged by DUs for charging stations and to establish rules for self-generating charging hubs and centralized vehicle-to-grid facilities. Based on the latest auto industry data, EVs accounted for 12 percent of the market last year, marking a significant jump from 2024’s 5.5 percent. By 2035, EVs may account for around 45 percent of car sales in the Philippines even as affordability challenges continue to slow wider adoption, according to the International Energy Agency. Filipinos’ growing interest in EVs comes amid the ongoing global oil crisis, which pushed diesel prices to as high as P170 per liter at the height of geopolitical tensions. “Every spike in global oil prices immediately affects millions of Filipino families through higher transport costs, higher food prices and higher inflation,” said Patrick Aquino, director at the Department of Energy. Latest DOE data showed that the transport sector accounted for about 67 percent of the country’s total oil demand. “Reducing our dependence on imported fuels is therefore not only an environmental objective; it is an economic necessity. Every EV powered by locally generated electricity reduces exposure to volatile global oil markets,” Aquino said.