Energy sales within the Manila Electric. (MERALCO) franchise area is looking to surpass the pre-pandemic levels as power demand continues to rise.
MERALCO first vice president and chief commercial officer Ferdinand Geluz said they are expecting a six percent growth this year driven by commercial and industrial sales.
Nine months into the year, MERALCO’s consolidated utility energy sales went up by six percent to 36,553 gigawatt-hours (GWh), which already breached the pre-pandemic levels as the commercial segment recovers.
Meanwhile, the monthly sales volumes of the distribution company continue to remain above the 4000 GWh level during the third quarter of 2022.
The improvement in energy sales was driven by sustained residential consumption, improvement in commercial volumes, strong industrial rebound within the franchise area amid more relaxed quarantine restrictions following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fewer restrictions also pushed demand growth in the retail, real estate, hotel, and restaurant industries.
Onsite schooling also pushed sales volume for the education and transport sectors.
Earlier, MERALCO president and CEO Ray Espinosa said the company’s consolidated sales volumes surpassing the pre-pandemic levels signify that the demand for power, especially from the commercial sector, will continue to rise as the country recovers and moves forward from the pandemic.
As of the end of September, Meralco’s total customer base comprises 7.6 million customers, an increase of 3% from 7.4 million during the same period last year.
