Meralco sales seen to grow by 8%
MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) expects energy sales this year to grow by 8.1% to more than 40,000 gigawatt-hours (GWh), an official of the distribution utility said, citing figures that include operations in Clark, Pampanga.
Alfredo S. Panlilio, Meralco senior vicepresident, called the growth “significant” compared with the 6% posted in 2015.
Broken down, 39,600 GWh was attributed to Meralco’s franchise area in Metro Manila and nearby areas, and around 500 GWh for Clark Electric Distribution Corp. (CEDC).
He attributed the growth to the increase in electricity usage by both the residential and commercial consumer segments, citing the continued rise in building construction.
He also cited Tiger Resort Leisure & Entertainment, Inc., the latest gaming place led by Japanese mogul Kazuo Okada.
“On the commercial side, TigerOkada should ramp up next year. By yearend [ 2017] [consumption should be] 10-15 GWh per month. This month, it’s 1 GWh,” he told reporters during the company’s yearend lunch briefing at the Metrowalk Commercial Complex in Ortigas Ave.
Mr. Panlilio, who is also the utility’s head of customer retail services and corporate communications, placed Meralco’s customer count so far this year at 6.1 million, up 4% from the figure last year.
During Meralco’s quarterly briefing in October, Mr. Panlilio had said energy sales for the nine months to September went up by 9%, which he described as “significantly stronger” compared with a growth forecast of nearly 4% before the start of the year.
For the January-September period, energy sales volume was up 9% to 30,103 GWh. In the third quarter alone, sales volume was up by 7% to 10,386 GWh. Growth was largely driven by the effects of election expenditures and the warm weather during the height of El Niño.
Sales across all customer classes stayed strong. Residential consumers used more power, driven by a growth in household income, low electricity prices and “benign” inflation.
He said sales to commercial customers were spurred by expansion projects and newly energized accounts. For industrial customers, sales growth was driven by increased construction activities and consumer product demand.
Electricity revenues as of September were at P189.1 billion, down by 1% compared with the figure a year ago largely because of lower fuel prices. Meralco said the average coal price during the three quarters was at $ 54.36 per metric tons. It also said oil price averaged at an all- time time low of $ 38.98 per barrel.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.