Meralco sees sales volume rising 5%

By Alena Mae S. Flores – September 27, 2017 at 07:01 pm

from manilastandard.net

Manila Electric Co., the biggest electricity retailer, expects sales volume to grow 5 percent this year in the face of increased demand across all sectors.

“This year, we’re seeing close… to (growth of) five percent (from) a high base,” Meralco president Oscar Reyes told reporters in a chance interview.

Meralco, which has over six million customers in its franchise area, reported sale volume expanded slightly above 8 percent to 40,132 gigawatt-hours in 2016.

“On year-to-date, as of August, growth was about 4.2 percent. We’ve seen growth to be around six percent for the balance of the year. It’s been six percent since July,” Reyes said.

The company said sales volume in the first six months rose three percent to 20,338 gWh.

He said residential customers had a “slow three months” of demand because of the cool weather. The demand picked up later as more residential developments were put up.

“With economic growth, there’s rising affluence, even for residential,” Reyes said.

He said commercial demand also remained strong with activity coming from real estate, trade, BPOs, online gaming operations, new hotels and restaurants.

The industrial segment had also been growing seven percent over the last two months, he said.

Reyes declined to give a full-year net income projection, although the company reported a core net income of P10.1 billion in the first half, down two percent from P10.388 billion year-on-year, due to lower non-electricity revenues.

Reported net income, which excludes effects of foreign exchange gains or losses, mark to market adjustments and other one-time exceptional transactions, declined three percent to P10.5 billion from P10.768 billion on year on lower revenues from non-electric subsidiaries.

Reyes, meanwhile, said the series of yellow alerts in the Luzon grid since late August underscored the need for additional power capacities to meet the increasing demand.

“I think it just shows potential vulnerability of the entire system and you’re better with adequate capacity. If we cut it too thinly, and there are a bit delays, then we’re going into a situation as we move to 2019-2022,” he said.

Reyes said Meralco did not want to raise the alarm but “it’s really just a realization that you’re better off with adequate capacity because it takes time to build, its not instant noodles.”

Power plants take at least three years to build. Meralco has over 3,500 megawatts of capacity, pending the approval of its supply contracts with seven power generators.