The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is bullish on the prospects of its prepaid electricity service (PRES), expecting subscription to have reached 95,000 as of the first quarter of the year, as the service is now also becoming popular to condominium owners.
“From 2016 Meralco has more than doubled its prepaid electricity-service base, ending 2017 with close to 90,000 customers, and by end-March 2018 will be 95,000,” said Meralco Senior Vice President Al Panlilio in an e-mail.
The prepaid electricity service is available in residential areas in the cities of Manila, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasig, municipalities of Angono, Cainta, Binangonan, and Taytay in Rizal, and parts of Taguig, Pasay, San Juan, Parañaque, Novaliches, Caloocan, Cavite, Tagaytay and Bulacan.
In 2017 alone, Meralco activated additional 48,735 PRES customers, bringing the total to 89,717. Last year’s performance was an all-time high, as it doubled year-on-year.
Prepaid electricity predominantly attracted residential customers, as well as retail-estate developers catering to students, aside from young families living in low-, mid- and high-rise residential buildings.
“PRES customers are varied. Aside from residential customers, it also attracted developers who catered to students, young families living in mid- and high-rise buildings and lessors of houses for rent,” he said.
Based on research from actual consumer usage, customers who shifted from postpaid to prepaid are able to effectively monitor their consumption daily via text-messaging service, and, as a result, they can save an average of 20 percent on electricity consumption. This translates to total savings of around P300 per customer.
Load denomination is as low as P100.
Panlilio said Meralco continues to push forward its PRES.
“From the Energy Regulatory Commission, Meralco is awaiting approval for two things. First, the meter filings—235,000 meters filed in 2016, and another 338,000 meters filed in March 2017. Second, Meralco’s application on advanced metering infrastructure filed March 2017. We will then start offering a postpaid service shortly thereafter,” he added.
The PRES runs on the latest smart meters, as outages are detected instantly, allowing for faster restoration. The prepaid meter system allows customers to monitor their electricity consumption, allowing them to budget their consumption and expenses. It will also enable them to monitor their electricity consumption as it happens.
“We sustained information drives to residential customers through a variety of targeted efforts. The awareness level now has reached 48 percent at end-2017 versus 16 percent in 2016,” added the official.
Also, Meralco started working with real-estate developers to lay the groundwork for a future smart city, starting with smart meters that offer prepaid electricity.
Luis Miguel Gonzalez, vice president of Century Properties Management Construction Corp., believes in the service. “When the prepaid [meters were installed] in our Azure development, we already had three towers with the traditional meters,” he said. “[These were placed] only in the fourth and fifth towers.
“Sixty to 70 percent of our clientele are people who do not reside in the Philippines for the entire year. With the old system, they would have to pay for their electricity every month; with prepaid electricity, the customers are happier.”
One hundred and thirteen years into the power business, Meralco now has six million customers. This milestone was reached when property developer First Golden Achievers installed the PRES in its España Grand Residences.
Engr. Ceasar Tan, executive vice president and chief finance officer of First Golden Achievers, believes there is one thing that sets a business apart from its competitors: the use of new, innovative technology. This belief powered the success of the España Grand Residences, one of the first buildings in the bustling Sampaloc area to offer prepaid electricity for its unit owners and tenants, composed mostly of young families and students.
“We have been in the property-development business for over 10 years and we are amazed with the customer experience with Meralco Biz Partners. They sit down and talk with us and our tenants to help us understand how their new products and services work,” Tan said.
Meralco’s PRES continued to reap awards from international award-giving bodies. Its haul in 2017 upped its total to seven awards plus two finalist berths since 2015. Customer satisfaction is also higher at 8.30 versus previous year’s 8.28, as reported by an independent research agency.
Image credits: https://residential.meralco.com.ph
1 comment
really meralco increased prepaid electricity services. prepaid electricity brings in various advantages that can help you save your efforts and money as well. If you are looking for a way to install prepaid electricity at your home or office option, you must be aware of its healthy and intelligent features. really good infomation on ur blog. thanks for sharing.