Meralco to spend P154 billion in capex through 2020

by VG Cabuag - November 18, 2015
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/meralco-to-spend-p154-billion-in-capex-through-2020/

POWER distributor Manila Electric Co. said it will spend P154 billion in capital expenditures (capex) from next year through 2020 as part of business expansion and the improvement of its infrastructure to withstand inclement weather.

Rafael Andrada, the company treasurer, said in a briefing that P91 billion will be used for the distribution side and another P63 billion for the generation side.

“Meralco needs to support the growing power requirements of our customers,” Estrada said, adding that as of the third quarter of the year, it already has 5.74 million customers, a 4-percent increase from last year.

“Imagine population growth of 2.2 percent. We grew 4 percent last year and over the last 10 years, we grew like 3 percent in new customers. It just shows how attractive urban migration is, especially for the Meralco power areas,” he said.

The P154-billion capex is an increase over the previous five-year investments that amounted to P83 billion divided into P63-billion distribution expansion and P20-billion power generation.

Among the company’s completed projects are the development of GSI-1 substation of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to support the power requirements of the gambling and hotel facilities in Entertainment City, the expansion of Fort Boni Global City-4 GSI substation in Taguig, and and expansion of the Tutuban substation.

The company is looking at the growth prospect on the public partnership projects, among them the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Skyway Stage 3, Muntinlupa-Cavite Expressway, and the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 extension.

In power generation, it plans to go ahead with various projects with a total cost of P440 billion, among them the 800-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant with Global Business Power, the 600-MW coal-fired plant in partnership with Redondo Peninsula Energy, as well as the 1,200-MW Atimonan One Energy in Atimonan, Quezon.

Andrada said Meralco may divest a significant portion of its equity in the generation business but it intends to “keep a significant share.”