[Vantage Point] One peso, two fortunes: The hidden energy bill

When a household opens a higher electricity bill, it is also confronting a currency problem. The peso’s slide creates a stark divide across the country: extra cash for families receiving dollars, but steeper costs for those earning pesos. Yet even that apparent windfall carries an invisible tax. Because the Philippines relies heavily on imported energy, currency depreciation and global commodity swings compound, draining household budgets, raising operational overhead, and eroding the foreign exchange reserves the broader economy requires to keep operating. For Elena, a nurse in California, the peso’s decline looks like a modest salary increase. Sending $1,000 to her mother yielded P60,000 at a P60 exchange rate; at P64, it yields P64,000 before transfer fees.

But for Ramon, a delivery driver paid strictly in pesos, that same currency movement brings costlier pump prices and fewer groceries. Neither has changed jobs, worked longer hours, or shifted productivity, yet their purchasing power moves in opposite directions. Their lived experiences capture the uneven consequences of currency depreciation. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their dependents appreciate the extra cash, while domestic wage earners absorb the pain of rising prices. Even Elena’s mother cannot treat the extra P4,000 as pure windfall. A good portion will simply cover goods and services made pricier by the weaker peso—starting with her power and grocery bills. On October 27, the peso closed at P64. 17 per dollar , extending its slide despite an unexpectedly sharp 50-basis-point policy rate hike to 5. 50% by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) the previous week. Must Read Philippine peso sinks to record low P64. 17 vs $1 | The wRap The currency’s brief bounce quickly faded, exposing the limits of…