MANILA - Meralco said on Wednesday it has decided to stagger the electricity rate hike for the March billing.

The increase in generation charge will be around P0.60 in March, and the remaining will be charged in April and May.

The company said this will ease the burden of the rate hike burden on consumers in March as other charges are also increasing.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy said it has piloted measures meant to save electricity costs.

Starting last month, the whole DOE office has started to implement daylight saving time where workers start to report to work at 7 a.m. and finish at 4 p.m.

Employees have also been doing the 4-day work week and 1-day work-from-home setup.

Workers do not report physically to work on Friday but they do work from home.

If a worker needs to finish work in the office on Friday, the lights and aircon will not be switched on in all areas except in designated areas of work.

The aircon thermostat has also been fixed at 23-24 degrees celsius and lights are turned off during lunch break.

Director Patrick Aquino says the setup has generated savings of more than P120,000 in the office's electricity bill.

Finance Secretary Diokno says this will be replicated soon in other offices.

"The idea is to mandate this to all public offices (national, corporate, and local) and public buildings (e.g. terminals, airports, seaports, train stations, public markets, etc). The shift towards daylight saving time (7 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and 4-day workweek + one day WFH will be optional," Diokno said.

The power-saving scheme will be implemented in the Department of Finance "as soon as possible" said Diokno in a message.

• National Grid Corporation of the Philippines warns of 'tight' power supply this summer
• Several electric coops across PH hikes rate in March

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