Meralco spending P13 B to improve distribution system

MANILA, Philippines - Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is spending a record P13 billion next year to improve the reliability and quality of its distribution system.

Funding will come from the combination of existing cash flow and loans, an executive said.

“Next year, (capital expenditures) will be P13.5 billion,” Meralco president and CEO Oscar Reyes said on the sidelines of the Asia CEO Awards last week.

“We’ve been spending about P10 billion to P11 billion last year and this year,” he said.

Meralco earlier announced it earmarked P13 billion for its capital expenditures this year, up from the P10.3 billion in 2012.

The record spending is in line with Meralco’s plan to grow its business along with the increase in customer growth.

Reyes said the company’s customer base is increasing by about 3.3 percent annually.

In January to September, billed customers grew to 5.3 million, with over 136 thousand new customer accounts since the beginning of the year.

“Secondly, we’re making our facilities more robust to ensure that we can provide 24/7 electricity service,” Reyes said.

“We want to assure reliability and quality service and reduce systems loss. All of these require massive investments,” Reyes said, adding that Meralco is strengthening its distribution network given recent Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Meralco’s 12-month moving average system loss, which refers to energy lost or wasted as electricity is transported and unaccounted use like theft, was at 6.71 percent as of end-Sept. The Energy Regulatory Commission has pegged the system loss cap at 8.5 percent.