1 month ago
7
Brix Lelis - The Philippine Star
February 17, 2025 | 12:00am
Linemen from a power utility company inspect electric meters along Road 10, in Tondo, Manila on January 11, 2025.
STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan’s Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) saw its energy sales marginally rise in January, sustaining its momentum following a robust performance last year.
Meralco SVP and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said consolidated energy sales volume heated up to 4,061 gigawatt-hours (GWh) last month.
This was higher than the 4,045 GWh sold in the same month last year, which experienced a notable surge driven by the El Niño weather pattern.
Geluz said residential sales slightly rose to 1,425 GWh from 1,422 GWh, while commercial sales edged one percent higher to 1,564 GWh from 1,548 GWh.
“Both sectors experienced a slowdown in demand, with the impact of long weekend holidays on household consumption and business operations,” he said.
As for the industrial segment, Geluz noted that sales went down to 1,059 GWh from 1,063 GWh due to intermittent shutdowns of key accounts in the steel and food and beverage industries.
In 2024, Meralco’s energy sales sizzled to over 54,000 GWh from the previous year’s 51,044 GWh as more customers relied on cooling devices amid the warmer temperatures caused by El Niño.
Also contributing to hotter sales were the sustained new account energization, with Meralco’s customer count hitting the eight-million mark in November last year.
Pangilinan, who serves as Meralco’s chairman and CEO, has described 2024 as a “great year” for the company, expressing confidence in sustaining its hot streak this year.
“I think it will be a better year for Meralco (this year). (We’re) quite confident as the economy is doing OK under President Marcos,” he said.
From January to September 2024, the power giant reported a core net income of P35.1 billion, 17 percent higher than the P30 billion earned in the same period in 2023.
The growth was propelled by a consistent increase in the sales volume of the distribution utility and stronger contributions from the power generation and retail electricity supply businesses.
Meralco has yet to report its full-year 2024 earnings, but Pangilinan was expecting to exceed the P43-billion profit guidance the company set in the first half.
As the country’s largest private distribution company, Meralco provides electric service to customers within its franchise coverage, which includes Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
