Manila Times.net
Published : Monday, December 05, 2011 00:00 Written by : EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO
FULL-YEAR demand for electricity in Manila Electric Co.’s franchise should meet the record growth posted in 2010, a top official said.
Oscar Reyes, Meralco senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the utility could post another double-digit growth in 2011.
“I think this year is tracking the record year of 2010. 2010, we increased by 10 percent over 2009 and that’s way above the normal annual increase over the last 10 years, which are in the order of about 2.2 [percent] to 2.5 percent,” he said.
Meralco distributes electricity to Metro Manila and its environs, which contribute to over half of the country’s economic output.
In 2010, the utility broke an average single-digit growth recorded in the past decade with a record increase in electricity sales primarily as a result of the national elections held that year.
Reyes said that because of the driving factor to the company’s growth a year ago, the company initially projected demand to taper off for 2011.
Also, the country experienced a relatively cooler weather this year, in addition to typhoons that inundated parts of the company’s service area.
“It’s still positive but call it around probably around 1 percent over last year, which is very good, in kilowatt-hour sales, because you’re talking about record volumes,” Reyes said.
Meralco’s consolidated revenues, which consists of 97 percent electricity sales, increased by 2 percent to P194.9 billion for the first nine months of 2011.
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