Excerpts from an article by Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) February 23, 2011 issue

The Philippines, which ranks among the most corrupt countries, also holds the unenviable record of having the highest residential power rates not only in Asia but in the entire world.

Officials of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) admitted as much yesterday in the course of a hearing by the House energy committee on the high cost of electricity in the country.

The energy officials said the Philippines has overtaken Japan as the country that charges the highest electricity rate on residential users.

As for commercial users, the country charges the second highest rate after Singapore. Commercial users pay more here for electricity than those in Japan.

The residential rate here is about 18 US cents per kilowatt-hour. It is:
17 cents in Japan,
15 cents in Singapore,
8 cents in Thailand,
7 cents in Malaysia,
5 cents in Indonesia,
3 cents in Vietnam.

In terms of the commercial rate, it is
14 cents in Singapore,
13 cents in the Philippines,
12 cents in Japan,
8 cents in Thailand,
7 cents in Malaysia,
6 cents in Vietnam,
5 cents in Indonesia.

The energy officials tried to justify the high cost of electricity here by saying the other countries cited are subsidizing their residential users.