Meralco assures enough power supply, ramps up maintenance
THE Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) has officially declared the start of the dry season, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) assured its customers of its readiness to continue delivering stable and reliable electricity service.
“We are actively coordinating with the Department of Energy (DOE) and other industry stakeholders to ensure readiness to meet the higher demand we anticipate in the coming months, which coincides with the country’s midterm elections,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.
The distribution utility has been ramping up its maintenance and upgrading activities to make sure its distribution network and facilities are in good condition.
As early as last year, Meralco proactively worked on securing additional supply to meet the demand of its customers. In January, Meralco entered into an emergency power supply agreement for 200 MW capacity to augment baseload supply for the critical dry months and lessen the exposure of customers to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), where prices are known to be highly volatile.
To help with demand-side management, Meralco continues to encourage more businesses and industrial establishments to participate in the government’s Interruptible Load Program (ILP).
The ILP is an energy demand-side management program through which large-load customers are asked to use their generator sets or shift their operations, instead of drawing power from the grid, to spare households from power interruptions during instances of Red Alert or when supply is insufficient to meet the demand.
At present, there are more than 100 companies with over 500 MW of total de-loading capacity enrolled in the ILP program within the Meralco franchise area.
In addition, Meralco has been consistently empowering consumers to embrace energy efficiency as a way of life. Based on the latest data, residential electricity consumption during the summer months jumps by 20 to 33 percent versus the cooler months of January and February.
