Meralco energy sales seen to rebound in 2026
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor, expects a flattish growth in energy sales this year, but a rebound is on the horizon in 2026.
Ferdinand Geluz, Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said that while the group saw its customer base growing to 8.18 million, which added around 750 gigawatt hours, there was an “organic contraction” as they came off a high base due to El Niño.
Meralco had a strong performance, especially in the early part of 2024, as Filipinos experienced extreme heat, resulting in a surge in electricity consumption.
“But the good thing is, as we continue our aggressive energization this year, it will some sort of generate a lot of sales next year,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Clean Energy Summit 2025 in Singapore.
The executive also said the normalization of temperature after the El Niño and La Niña effects could help stabilize electricity sales.
While the exit of the Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogos) has also hit its sales, the group stays positive about regaining them as some properties are being repurposed, Geluz said.
“And, of course, some of the occupancy left by Pogos, some of it will be occupied by office spaces,” he said.
“So that being said, we’re still confident that by next year, with the continuous energization that we’re having now, plus some sort of normalization, we’re still confident that next year, [there will be] an increase of around 1,700 MWh, so more than 3 percent,” the official added.
Meralco said earlier that its consolidated reported net income had climbed 9 percent to P36.82 billion as of end-September.
Consolidated core net income settled at P40 billion, up 14 percent.
The core income of its distribution utility business contributed P21.9 billion to earnings, equivalent to 37 percent of the total.
Meralco delivers power to Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal and selected areas in Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.
