From July 2025 through June 2026, about three-quarters of electricity consumed in the Philippines came from fossil fuels, while only a quarter came from low-carbon sources. Coal dominated at roughly 57%, followed by gas at 17%. Among clean electricity sources, hydropower supplied about 11%, geothermal 8%, solar 4%, and wind 1%. This leaves considerable room to expand clean electricity and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, whose use contributes to climate change and air pollution.

Is Electricity Growing in Philippines?

The latest figures do not show growth relative to previous per-person records. Electricity consumption in 2026 was about 1,001 kWh per person, roughly 43 kWh—or 4%—below the 2024 record of 1,045 kWh per person. Low-carbon electricity generation also fell short of its peak, reaching 251 kWh per person compared with 257 kWh in 2025, a decline of about 2%. These shortfalls are concerning as electrification and growing digital infrastructure increase the need for electricity. However, per-person figures alone do not establish whether total national electricity consumption increased or decreased.

Suggestions

The Philippines can increase low-carbon electricity generation by accelerating solar deployment, developing wind resources, and establishing a nuclear electricity programme alongside its existing geothermal and hydropower generation. Useful solar examples include Sri Lanka, where solar supplies 15% of electricity, and the US state of Hawaii, where it supplies 23%; both offer island-system reference points. For wind, the island nation of Cape Verde generates 14% of its electricity from wind, showing a substantially larger contribution than the Philippines’ current 1%. Nuclear experience in nearby South Korea, where it supplies 25% of electricity, and in France, where it supplies 67%, offers lessons in developing a strong clean electricity backbone. Investment in transmission, inter-island connections, storage, and workforce development would help turn these opportunities into sustained electricity growth.

History

Historically, Philippine low-carbon electricity growth has been driven largely by hydropower and geothermal, with frequent hydropower fluctuations. Hydropower rose by 1.3 TWh in 1984 and 1 TWh in 1988. In the late 1990s, it declined by 1 TWh in both 1997 and 1998 before rebounding by 2.8 TWh in 1999, while geothermal added 1.7 TWh in each of 1998 and 1999 and another 1 TWh in 2000, followed by a 1.2 TWh decline in 2001. Hydropower continued alternating between gains and setbacks: increases in 2006 and 2008 surrounded a decline in 2007, and a 2 TWh fall in 2010 was largely reversed in 2011. Further gains in 2017 and 2021 were interrupted by a decline in 2019. More recently, solar added 1.2 TWh in 2024, and hydropower gained 2.6 TWh in 2025 before losing 1 TWh in 2026—underscoring the importance of sustained expansion across several clean electricity sources.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Jul 2025 – Jun 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.