MANILA, Philippines — Power utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) saw electricity sales notch higher in the first eight months as sustained energization continued to expand its customer base.
Charina Padua, Meralco head of customer relations and services, said initial figures showed that energy sales in the power distribution business rose by 0.7 percent year-on-year to 35,938 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from January to August.
Consistent energization helped drive the increase, offsetting a slight decline in organic sales as cooler weather dampened demand.
“We’re forecasting continued recovery for the (third quarter of 2026),” Padua said.
Meralco’s energy sales in the distribution business declined in the first two quarters, with volume slipping to 26,967 GWh from 27,091 GWh on an annual basis.
Although warmer conditions in the second quarter boosted electricity demand, the increase was not enough to make up for the weak first-quarter performance.
As of end-June, Meralco served more than 8.3 million customers, with households accounting for at least half of new connections.
Meralco projects residential connections to grow by an average of 3.72 percent annually from 2026 to 2035.
To meet rising electricity demand across its franchise area, the country’s largest power utility has opened an auction for 900 megawatts of baseload capacity.