Meralco vows support to hotel sector

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) has expressed its commitment to support the recovery of local hotel operators as they bounce back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with occupancy again on the rise.

Meralco, which has long been a partner of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA), has pledged to continue providing stable and reliable electricity service, and energy solutions catering to the needs of the industry moving forward.

“For the past two years, our customers from the hotel industry were among the hardest hit with the sudden decline in occupancy,” Meralco vice president and head of enterprise and national government Ma. Cecilia Domingo said.

“Their facilities were used for quarantine, requiring them to operate as quasi-hospitals and to strictly implement health and safety protocols while providing utmost care to travelers that had to be accommodated. During this time, Meralco initiated contract rightsizing to assist our customers with hopes of preventing further loss of business and employment,” Domingo said.

The COVID-19 pandemic at its peak in 2020 led to temporary closure of businesses and loss of income for the hospitality industry.

Despite the challenges, the industry supported the government in its fight against the pandemic.

PHOA executive director Benito Bengzon Jr. said Meralco played a vital role in helping PHOA members deliver on their commitments with energy-saving measures, such as contract rightsizing and temporary waiving of the guaranteed minimum billing demand.

“PHOA sees Meralco as an institutional and vital industry partner. We hope to strengthen our relationship so that together we can continuously improve the delivery of services to our clientele,” Bengzon said.

With the local tourism taking off this year, Domingo said Meralco is ready and able to assist the hotels to ensure energy-readiness once again.

“Further, their aptitude for economic recovery through participation in the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) is laudable,” Domingo said.

ILP is a demand-side management program of the Department of Energy where large businesses are asked to temporarily de-load from the grid when the Luzon grid is placed  under red alert.

Participation of companies is crucial to the success of ILP, since this may spare an estimate of 4,000 households and small businesses from power outages for every one megawatt of de-loaded power.

Meralco said among the companies in the hospitality industry within its franchise which are enrolled under the ILP are Taal Vista, City of Dreams, Discovery Suites, Diamond Hotel, Sofitel Manila, and Raffles and Fairmont Hotel.