By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA, Philippines — More electric cooperatives could see their system losses driven down to single-digit levels if they partner with Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), potentially translating into billions of pesos in savings for consumers, a company executive said.
Arnel Casanova, Meralco senior vice president and head of strategic distribution utility partnerships, said many electric cooperatives continue to post double-digit system losses, with some reaching as high as 24 percent.
Casanova said Meralco’s entry into these utilities could substantially reduce such losses through fresh capital, infrastructure upgrades and the adoption of modern distribution technologies.
“[When] Meralco comes in, the double-digit system losses of the electric companies will be dropping down to single-digit,” Casanova said in a television interview Thursday.
He said even bringing system losses down to single digits could generate enormous savings for electricity consumers while improving the reliability and efficiency of power distribution.
“If you are able to lower that to even a single-digit, that’s worth billions of pesos of savings for the consumers themselves. So you get reliable power, efficient economic utility and cheaper power,” he said.
System loss refers to electricity that enters a distribution network but is not ultimately billed to consumers. It includes technical losses from power lines, transformers and aging equipment, as well as nontechnical losses linked to electricity theft, illegal connections, defective meters and billing problems.
Casanova noted that system loss charges account for only about 5 percent of Meralco customers’ electricity bills, underscoring the broader impact that reducing losses could have on distribution efficiency and power costs.
Meralco has been pursuing possible partnerships with several electric cooperatives, including the South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative and the Batangas II Electric Cooperative.
Casanova said the initiative forms part of Meralco’s broader effort to strengthen smaller distribution utilities by providing capital and helping modernize their systems.
The planned investments could include smart systems, smart grids and upgrades to distribution lines—improvements that Meralco says could help electric cooperatives deliver more reliable and efficient power to their customers.
Casanova said Meralco’s strategy is also aligned with chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s push to empower electric cooperatives and help accelerate industrial development outside major urban centers.
“Mr. Pangilinan has made it a priority that Meralco must be able to empower electric cooperatives so that the industries could move to the countryside,” he said.
ia/xf
