Energy aggregation sounds technical. The concept behind it is simple: a group of people buys more cheaply than any one of them could alone. Applied to Philippine electricity, aggregation is the mechanism that lets households access the wholesale energy market — and it’s why services like SunShare can deliver savings that were previously out of reach for ordinary consumers.
Key Takeaways
- Aggregation pools the electricity consumption of many small customers into a single large account — creating negotiating leverage no individual household has.
- Under EPIRA’s RCOA framework, a licensed aggregator (like SunShare) acts as your Retail Electricity Supplier — contracting generation on your behalf at wholesale-adjacent rates.
- Your electricity delivery doesn’t change — Meralco (or your local DU) still maintains the wires. What changes is who supplies the electricity flowing through them, and at what price.
- Savings come from the generation component: the 55% of your bill that covers the actual electricity cost, not the infrastructure.
The core concept: Collective purchasing power
Consider how this works in other markets. A supermarket buying 10,000 units of a product pays far less per unit than an individual buying one at retail. The same principle applies to electricity — generators offer lower rates for larger, more predictable supply commitments.
A single Manila household consuming 1,272 kWh per month has no meaningful leverage with a power plant. But an aggregator representing 10,000 households consuming a combined 12.7 million kWh per month is a significant customer — one generators will compete to serve through long-term contracts at below-spot rates.
| Without Aggregation | With Aggregation | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | 1 household, no leverage | 10,000+ households, real leverage |
| Rate | Meralco default: ₱13.49/kWh | SunShare negotiated: ₱11.67–₱11.08/kWh |
| Who negotiates | You alone (impossible) | SunShare on your behalf |
How aggregation works under Philippine law
Energy aggregation in the Philippines is authorized under the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) provisions of EPIRA (RA 9136). The framework allows eligible consumers to leave their distribution utility’s default supply and choose a Retail Electricity Supplier (RES) — a licensed company that contracts generation on their behalf.
SunShare holds a Retail Electricity Supplier license from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). We’re also registered as a Retail Aggregator — meaning we’re specifically authorized to pool smaller customers who individually fall below the RCOA contestable consumer threshold.
Here’s how the aggregation process works step by step:
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You sign a Retail Supply Agreement
You authorize SunShare to act as your electricity supplier. This is a simple contract — for residential customers, there’s no lock-in period. You remain on your existing distribution utility for wires, billing infrastructure, and metering.
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SunShare aggregates the group
SunShare combines the consumption of all members into a virtual aggregation account. Smart meter data from your distribution utility provides interval consumption records. The pool’s total demand is forecast and managed as a single supply commitment to generators.
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SunShare negotiates with generators
Using the pool’s combined demand as leverage, SunShare contracts electricity supply from generators — typically at rates below what the distribution utility pays through its own procurement. The differential between the contracted rate and the default utility rate is the source of member savings.
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Your bill reflects the new rate
Starting the billing cycle after your switch is processed, the generation component of your bill reflects SunShare’s contracted rate — not the default utility rate. For a ₱8,000/month bill, Phase I grid aggregation savings are approximately ₱1,082 per month.
What doesn’t change when you join
A common concern: “Will my electricity service be affected?” The answer is no — and understanding why requires understanding what aggregation actually changes.
Your distribution utility (Meralco, VECO, etc.) continues to maintain your meter, your wires, and your physical connection. Aggregation only changes the supply contract — who sells you the electricity that flows through those wires, and at what price. Your service continuity is governed by your DU’s infrastructure obligations, which are unchanged.
Specifically, after joining SunShare:
- Your physical meter remains in place and is read by your DU as normal
- Your power stays on exactly as before — there’s no interruption during or after the switch
- You still pay distribution, transmission, system loss, and regulatory charges to your DU
- You report outages, connection issues, and metering problems to your DU, not to SunShare
The four phases of aggregation
SunShare’s aggregation model is structured in phases — each building on the last and delivering incrementally larger savings:
| Phase | Description | Savings vs. Default |
|---|---|---|
| Phase I · Grid Aggregation | Pure demand aggregation — no generation assets required | 13.49% of total bill |
| Phase I · Embedded | Aggregation with small embedded generation in the community | 17.86% of total bill |
| Phase II · Solar | Phase I + rooftop or community solar added to the pool | +16.46% (incremental) |
| Phase III · Battery | Full stack: aggregation + solar + battery storage | 83.54% of total bill |
“Aggregation is how the competitive energy market reaches ordinary Filipino households. It’s not a workaround or a hack — it’s exactly what EPIRA envisioned, implemented at a scale that individual consumers could never achieve alone.”
— SunShare Energy Policy Team
Most households start with Phase I grid aggregation — it requires nothing from you except signing up, and delivers immediate measurable savings on your next electricity bill. Phases II and III are upgrades available once you’re a Phase I member.
