Power utility giant
Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has completed seven major capital projects
this year and similarly advanced implementation of those that are integral to
the government-underpinned public-private participation (PPP) projects.
As of end-September,
the company noted that it already spent P7.8 billion from its programmed
capital expenditures for the year.
The completed
electrical capital projects include the 69-kilovolt Mahabang Parang-Batangas
City line; the expansion of the Fort Bonifacio Global City substation; the
construction of the 115kV Dasmariñas-Imus line; and the expansion of the
Tutuban substation.
The others have been
the uprating of the 115kV Meycauayan-Bagbaguin line; the construction of the
69kV Batangas City-Bolbok-Simlong line; and the development of the Pagcor 1
gas-insulated switchgear substation.
The company
emphasized that it also gained “significant completion milestones for the
timely relocation of Meralco facilities” that would be traversed by the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway Project.
Additionally, the utility firm has cleared its facilities at areas being
affected by the road and bridge-widening projects of the Department of Public
Works and Highways.
Digitizing and
modernizing its network and systems are also in the continuing capital outlay
plan of the distribution firm, labeling such as its pathway into the
electricity sector’s “new normal.”
Meralco president
Oscar S. Reyes said “we continue to set our sights on the long-term
requirements of our franchise area,” noting that such investment momentum will
carry on in their next capex program.
The company has been
emphasizing that it is “mindful of technological developments capable of
disrupting Meralco’s business model,” hence, it has to keep pace with the
trend.
Meralco chairman
Manuel V. Pangilinan stressed that the utility firm “will continue to keep a
close watch over these transformative changes” and shall take these as foothold
in improving service to their customers.
For the upcoming
regulatory year, Meralco is seeking the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission
for its over P17-billion proposed capex to bankroll its next batch of projects.
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