THE Manila Electric Company (Meralco) will register a customer count of eight million this year, an increase of about 2.5 percent from last year’s 7.8 million.
During a recent news briefing, the utility firm reported that it expects to reach 8 million customers by November 2024. “We expect to hit 8-million mark in terms of customer count this year,” said Meralco chief operating officer Ronnie Aperecho.
Meralco’s growth in customer count was sustained as it ended 2023 with 7.8 million from 7.6 million in 2022, up 3 percent. Residential customers still comprised bulk of Meralco customers at 7.2 million last year.
Meralco is the country’s largest electric power distribution firm. Its franchise area includes Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, parts of Bulacan, Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna, and Quezon.
As summer approaches, the public, said Meralco, should continue practicing energy efficiency for better management of their consumption, which historically rises by 10 percent to 40 percent during summer.
Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said the utility firm is in constant coordination with the Department of Energy (DOE) in working to ensure the delivery of stable, reliable, and continuous electricity service to customers during the summer months.
These include the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) and procurement of additional power supply, among others.
“Meralco also proactively obtained additional power supply via a series of competitive selection processes [CSPs] to meet the growing electricity demand of its customers. Recently, we secured an additional 400-megawatt [MW] interim power supply through a recently concluded CSP, subject to the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission [ERC],” Zaldarriaga added.
Likewise, Meralco continues to advocate for the expanded participation in the ILP as it urged businesses and industrial establishments to collectively alleviate the strain on the grid by participating in the program.
The ILP is an energy demand-side management program through which large-load customers are asked to use their generator sets or reduce their operations, instead of drawing power from the grid, to spare households from power interruptions during instances of Red Alert or when supply is insufficient to meet the demand.
Currently, there are 105 companies enrolled in the ILP within the Meralco franchise—equivalent to 530 MW of total de-loading capacity. More participants are being urged to participate through a series of engagement initiatives.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver continuous and stable power supply to our 7.8 million customers at the least cost possible,” Zaldarriaga said.
Image credits: Roy Domingo