Do senior citizens get a discount on their electricity and water bill?
Last updated: 2026-09-05 · Educational content; not legal advice.
Short answer
Yes. RA 9994 grants a minimum of five percent (5%) discount on the monthly utilization of water and electricity by households with senior citizens — but it comes with three conditions, and most households that miss out miss out on the second. First, 5% is a floor, not a ceiling: the law says "a minimum of". Second, the individual meters must be registered in the name of the senior citizen residing there. Third, monthly consumption must not exceed one hundred kilowatt hours (100 kWh) of electricity and thirty cubic metres (30 m³) of water. The meter condition is the one worth acting on, because it is fixable rather than lost: if the electricity account is still in the name of a spouse or an adult child, the discount simply does not apply, and the remedy is a transfer of account to the senior citizen — a request your distribution utility handles, and one LabanPH will put in writing for you, free and without an account, at labanph.org/complaints/build. Note also that going over the monthly cap forfeits the discount for that month only; it does not disqualify the household permanently.
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Frequently asked
The meter is in my late father's name, or in my child's name. Do we still get the discount?
Not as things stand. RA 9994 conditions the discount on the individual meters being registered in the name of the senior citizen residing in the household. That is a fixable problem rather than a lost right: apply to your distribution utility to transfer the account into the senior citizen's name, then claim the discount going forward. Ask the utility in writing what its transfer requirements are, and keep the date you asked.
What happens in a month when we go over 100 kWh?
The discount does not apply for that month. The cap in RA 9994 is a monthly one — not exceeding 100 kWh of electricity and 30 cubic metres of water — so a month above the cap forfeits that month's discount, and a month back under it qualifies again. Exceeding the cap does not remove the household from the entitlement.
Is it exactly 5%?
At least 5%. The statute grants "a minimum of five percent (5%) discount", so 5% is the floor. A local ordinance or a utility's own programme can be more generous, and nothing in RA 9994 caps it there.
Our senior citizens centre was told it gets 50%. Is that the same thing?
No, and they should not be confused. The 50% discount on electricity, water and telephone under RA 9994 applies to senior citizens centres and residential care or group homes that are government-run or non-stock, non-profit and DSWD-accredited. It is an institutional discount. A private household with a senior citizen claims the 5% household discount instead.
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