Meralco: January power sales likely grew 10% on strong demand

By Manila Standard – February 4, 2024, 7:25 pm

Power retailer Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said its sales volume likely grew around 10 percent in January 2024 from the same period last year amid the strong performance across all customer segments.

“No final numbers yet, but it seems Meralco DU (distribution utility) will hit 4,000 plus gigawatt-hours (GWh), indicative growth of around 10 percent compared to January 2023 with all segments [residential, commercial and industrial] performing better,” Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said.

Geluz said weather was a “bit warm” in late December, and the first three weeks of January.

“And I think we have a relatively lower base, since first quarter last year was not too good. We have months that hit double-digits previously due to combination of temperature and other factors,” he said.

Meralco previously forecast sales volume growth of 4.5 percent this year, same level expected in 2023 amid the continued strong performance of the economy.

Geluz said Meralco was expecting the industrial sector to rebound this year, and the commercial sector to improve, although it would not reach a double-digit growth.

“We don’t expect another double-digit for commercial, but still we’re expecting around 5 or 6 percent. We are expecting industrial rebound but of course with El Niño, there will be a slight spike in residential,” he said earlier.

Consolidated distribution utility sales volumes rose 4 percent in the first nine months of 2023, reaching 38,164 GWh from 36,553 GWh in the same period in 2022.

“We observed the sustained upward trajectory in the volume of energy sold throughout the nine-month period across all customer segments,” Meralco executive vice president and chief operating officer Ronnie Aperocho said earlier. Alena Mae S. Flores

The commercial segment accounted for 37 percent of total energy sales mix from January to September 2023, up from 35 percent last year, while residential sales remained at 35 percent. Industrial segment’s share dropped slightly from 29 percent previously to 28 percent.

Residential sales volume recovered with 3 percent growth to 13,363 GWh from 12,926 GWh. Increased consumption was also noted in condominiums and dormitories as on-site classes in colleges and universities resumed and on-site work arrangements increased last year.