Meralco electricity sales up in November as demand improves
BY LENIE LECTURA – DECEMBER 6, 2021
from Business Mirror
The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) saw an improvement in electricity sales last month mainly due to improving demand across all sectors.
Meralco First Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Ferdinand Geluz said in a text message Monday that the utility firm registered a 10.6-percent increase in sales for the month of November versus the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, year-to-date sales rose by 6 percent from last year.
The utility firm noted the continued recovery in the commercial and industrial sectors, following more flexible community quarantine restrictions, and sustained growth in the residential sector.
“All sectors exhibited double-digit growth. For November, the whole Meralco franchise experience full month under GCQ (general community quarantine) level 2 and less restriction resulting in better mobility and economic and commercial activity,” said Geluz.
He added that there was no major typhoon this year and temperature was relatively warmer. Last year, typhoons Tolly and Ulyses affected Meralco’s franchise area.
Meralco’s franchise area spans the entire Metro Manila, and nearby provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and parts of Batangas, Laguna, Pampanga and Quezon. It registered 7.4 million customers at end-September this year.
From January to September, Meralco reported a 6-percent increase in consolidated energy sales volume to 34,398 gigawatt hour (GWh) from 32,539 GWh in 2020.
Energy sales volumes from Meralco and Clark Electric were 6 percent and 10 percent higher, respectively. In terms of the sales mix, residential sales accounted for 37 percent, while commercial and industrial sales accounted for 33 percent and 30 percent, respectively,
Despite cooler temperatures since the start of the rainy season in June, residential sales volume reached 12,746 GWh, a 2-percent increase from 12,543 GWh in 2020 driven by continued high-volume energization of applications from socialized and mass housing customers.
Commercial sales volume grew by 2 percent to 11,281 GWh in 2021 from 11,063 GWh owing to the reopening of the economy and increased mobility that led to demand growth from retail, restaurants, and public transport sectors.
Industrial sales registered the highest increase at 16 percent to 10,263 GWh from 8,827 GWh in the same period last year, backed by the strong performance of the semiconductor industry amid the high demand for microchips, electronic parts, and devices; growth from cement and steel industries stimulated by public and private construction projects; and higher operational capacities in the food and beverage, and plastics industries.
Consolidated customer count went up by 4 percent to 7.4 million at end-September from 7.1 million in the same period in 2020, as energization of new customers continued.
