Meralco sees electricity demand growing by nearly 5% this year

MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) is expecting electricity demand to grow by nearly 5% in 2017, its president said, citing an “unusually” high growth rate so far this year even coming from last year’s high base.

“The demand is rising... Last year, demand increased close to 8.8%,” Meralco President and Chief Executive Officer Oscar S. Reyes told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 35th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

“We’ll probably end the year potentially close to 5%,” he said, adding that the growth is against a high base last year.

“On a year-to-date basis, as of August, growth was about 4.2% against a high base. But we’re seeing growth continue to be around 6% for the balance of the year,” he said. “It’s been 6% since July.”

Driving this year’s energy sales growth is the increased consumption from all consumer segments, Mr. Reyes said.

After a slow first quarter because of the cool weather, electricity use by residential consumers picked up.

“Commercial remains strong and surprisingly industrial is picking up,” he said.

On the commercial segment, growth is being driven by new developments in real estate, retail trade, business process outsourcing and online gaming operations. In particular, Mr. Reyes said new hotels and restaurants are adding to the growth.

“Industrial, I think over the last two months have been growing at around 7%, which is very high,” he said.

Meralco recorded an 8.1% increase in energy sales to 40,142 gigawatt- hours in 2016, a year when the country experienced “a perfect weather” while the economy was buoyant and strong, Mr. Reyes previously said.

In line with this year’s rising electricity demand, Mr. Reyes cited the need for the approval of Meralco’s pending power supply agreements. He said he was not causing alarm in asking for more energy supply, but the recent “yellow” alerts show vulnerability.

“It’s not an alarm we’re raising. It’s really just a realization that you’re better off with more and adequate capacity because it takes time to build. It’s not instant noodles,” he said.

Last Friday, the Luzon power grid was on yellow alert as reserves slipped below the required level after the unexpected shutdown and the output of some power plants.

“If you get a confluence of outages... Then it just poses a risk to continued commercial, industrial activity” he said.

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 Media-Quest Holdings, Inc., has interest in Business World through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls.