Meralco expects energy sales to grow this year

Despite a projected slowdown in demand from the commercial segment, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) still expects its energy sales to improve by 4.5 percent this year.

Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said the power distributor’s projected growth in energy sales volume is about 4.5 percent for this year, the same as the expected sales growth of about 4.4 to 4.5 percent for 2023.

“For 2024, we are projecting about the same. About 4.5 percent,” Geluz said.

Meralco has yet to release final 2023 sales figures.

“We are really hoping that the construction industry could have some sort of rebound,” Geluz said.

He said residential sales volume this year is expected to increase due to the impact of El Niño, which could prompt households to use cooling appliances more often.

“For industrial, we are expecting a rebound. Commercial, we don’t expect another double-digit growth this year, but still, we’re expecting probably around five or six percent growth,” he said.

From January to September last year, the company reported that distribution utility sales volumes rose by four percent to 38,164 gigawatthours, with Meralco’s volume rising by four percent year-on-year and that of Clark Electric Distribution Corp. improving by seven percent.

The commercial segment accounted for 37 percent of total energy sales mix during the nine-month period, while residential sales accounted for 35 percent and the industrial segment 28 percent.

For residential, Meralco noted higher consumption in condominiums and dormitories as onsite classes in colleges and universities resumed and onsite work arrangements increased.

The industrial sector, on the other hand, gradually showed signs of recovery as the drop in sales volume narrowed as of end September 2023.

Meralco expects its full-year 2023 consolidated core net income to hit P37 billion, a 37-percent jump from its 2022 consolidated core net income of P27.1 billion.

Meralco is the largest electric power distribution company in the country, providing electric service within its franchise area coverage, which includes Metro Manila, all of the provinces of Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan and parts of the provinces of Pampanga, Batangas, Laguna and Quezon.

The company has a consolidated customer count of 7.8 million as of end-September 2023.