Meralco spending P15.4 B in 2017

MANILA, Philippines - Power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has set over P15 billion in capital spending in 2017 to meet its franchise area’s growing requirements.

Meralco diclosed yesterday it filed an application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the approval of its capital expenditure (capex) for Regulatory Year 2017, which starts on  July 1, 2016 and ends on June 30, 2017.

The capex the company is asking clearance for amounts to P15.4 billion, Meralco CFO Betty Siy-Yap said in a text message.

The spending covers 23 major projects, bulk of which are for maintaining, expanding and improving Meralco facilities and assets.

In its filing, Meralco said these projects will ensure the distribution infrastructure is sufficient to meet the needs of its franchise area.

It sees peak demand to grow at about 3.5 percent and customer base to expand 3.1 percent over the 2017 regulatory period

“The increase in peak demand and customer count will require Meralco to increase the capacity of the electric distribution system in order to accommodate customer connections while maintaining the reliability and power quality of its distribution system,” it said.

Major projects also cover the automation to integrate innovative services and solutions into its distribution network.

“Automation/technology projects will further allow Meralco to enhance its distribution network, allowing it to respond more effectively to line and network outages which will reduce service interruptions of customers,” Meralco said.

Meanwhile, the power distributor has allocated P112.26 million for the relocation of its assets affected by the construction of government’s public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

The capex also includes spending for 83 residual projects, mostly for the improvement, rehabilitation of facilities and IT assets.