Power retailer Manila Electric Co. said Thursday sales volume would likely register a 6.3-percent growth this year on the back of higher residential and commercial demand.
Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said consolidated sales would grow from 51,044 gigawatt-hours in 2023 to the projected 54,259 GWh in 2024.
“We may surpass our sales volume target for the year by close to 800 GWh. [Our 2024 target sales volume is at 53,473 GWh or 4.8 percent growth from 2023.] Sustained new account energization brought in additional sales, as we surpassed 8 million customers in fourth quarter,” Geluz said.
He said the higher per capita consumption was seen as an effect of the El Nino phenomenon which ushered warmer weather observed for most of 2024.
“Furthermore, commercial grew as retail, real estate, hotels and leisure businesses continued to expand. On the other hand, industrial remained flattish as the modest increase in semicon, food and beverage and plastics were offset by decline in steel and Wheeling from embedded generation. Official numbers will be determined around second to third week of January 2025,” Geluz said.
Geluz earlier said sales in 11 months reached at 49,953 GWh, or 6.6 percent higher than 46,866 GWh a year ago, driven by the residential and commercial segments.
He said residential sales hit 17,962 GWh in 11 months, up by 9.8 percent from 16,363 GWh in the same period in 2023, through consistent energization of new accounts and steady organic growth.
Commercial sales reached 18,719 GWh, or 7.6 percent higher than 17,394 GWh a year earlier, brought by continued expansion of retail, real estate and hotel accounts.
Industrial sales amounted to 13,138 GWh, or 1.2 percent higher than 12,977 GWh in the same period in 2023.
He said November sales alone went up 4.8 percent to 4,528 GWh from a year earlier.
