Meralco targets 3.3M ‘smart’ meters installed in franchise area by 2024

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) said it has set a target of installing “smart” meters in under half of its franchise area by 2024.

The smart meters will allow it to more closely respond to network concerns, including a quicker response in isolating defective connections.

Alfredo S. Panlilio, Meralco senior vice-president, told reporters that the distribution utility projects the number of consumers to reach 7 million to 8 million by 2024, of which it targets 3.3 million to be connected with smart meters.

“We’re just baby steps into that but that will eventually be the way to go,” he said on the sidelines of Meralco’s technology and innovation summit at the company’s head office on Ortigas Ave. in Pasig City.

Mr. Panlilio said Meralco has a pending application with industry regulator Energy Regulatory Commission ( ERC) for the approval of 235,000 smart meters.

He said that by October or November this year, Meralco expects the number of customers within its franchise area to hit 6 million, but only 40,000 of it or less than 1% of it would have been connected with smart meters. The year 2024 should be within Meralco’s sixth reset year, Mr. Panlilio said. ERC regulates the power distribution utility within a so-called “reset period” consisting of four regulatory years.

Mr. Panlilio said one factor preventing the speedier rollout of smart meters is cost, which he placed at around $ 100 each. He said that for Meralco, connecting smart meters to its consumers would allow it to zero in on the problems within its network down to the household level. Right now, the utility can remotely monitor only up to the level of transformers on which a number of customers are connected, he said.