Meralco electrification program on track

By Lorenz S. Marasigan – March 4, 2021
from Business Mirror

Power lines run beside a sign for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) Makati branch in Manila, the Philippines, on Monday, March 23, 2009. Manila Electric Co. is the largest Philippine power retailer.

Image credits: (Bloomberg)

MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) is on track to complete its P1.1-billion electrification program by June this year, according to a ranking official.

Meralco SVP Ronnie Aperocho said as of December 2020, Meralco has already energized 296 sites, which brings its energization level to 55 percent. Another 240 sites are now under different levels of construction.

“We are set to complete priority 2 and 3 groups with a P1.1-billion budget which cover 536 and close to 27,000 households with December 2020 and June 2021 completion targets, respectively,” he said in a press briefing.  Aperocho is confident that Meralco will be able to complete its targets despite the community quarantine restrictions as it is “committed to bring light to our unserved and underserved customers.”

With the completion of these projects, he added, “Meralco would have already complied with the 100 percent household electrification.”

Meralco initially wanted to complete the electrification of its entire franchise area last year, but the restrictions brought about by the pandemic caused delays in the construction of its projects.

Meralco serves Metro Manila, where it is the sole electricity distributor, as well as some nearby provinces, like Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon. It has 7 million customers.

The company’s social development arm, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), also complements the energization program with its efforts in household and school electrification.

In 2019, over 8,000 homes of low-income families were energized and are now enjoying the benefits of electricity. Among those energized were two communities in Pasig City, which did not have access to electricity for more than 15 years due to tenure and right-of-way issues.

Under school electrification, OMF typically installs 3 kW solar PV systems to power lights, fans, and learning tools in off-grid schools.