Power sales in 2024 are expected to surpass earlier forecast amid higher temperatures that are fueling demand, an executive said over the weekend.
“We actually forecasted initially sales [growth] of 4.7 percent by yearend, but I think we’re looking at more than [5 percent] right now, probably up to [6 percent],” Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer Ferdinand Geluz said.
Meralco also expects a robust second-quarter sales growth of between 6 percent and 8 percent, reflecting the increased power demand amid soaring temperatures.
“We also see a good second quarter. In fact for April, we’re seeing around at least 8 percent growth, and maybe until June, we will grow between 6 [to] 8 percent. That gives us good first-half numbers,” Geluz said.
He said the growth would likely be tempered in the third quarter, if the La Nina weather phenomenon would prevail during the rainy season.
“Remember that the third quarter towards the second half is actually the start of El Niño. They swing in terms of temperature as a variable, but all in all, I think we’re looking at a very good year now in terms of sales,” Geluz said.
Meralco’s consolidated sales volumes in the first quarter rose to 12,307 gigawatt-hours from 11,287 GWh, as the volumes of Meralco and Clark Electric Distribution Corp. increased 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
The company said the strong quarterly sales volume growth was bolstered by a confluence of sales catalysts that included higher temperatures which rose by an average 0.50°C (from 26.71°C to 27.21°C) amid the El Niño phenomenon, an additional day in February due to the leap year and increased momentum of its recovering industrial segment.
Meralco said it noted 2.5 GWh of consumption per day for every 1-degree rise in temperature.
Commercial segment had the biggest share at 38 percent in the energy sales mix in the first quarter, while residential and industrial accounted for 34 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
Commercial sales volumes recorded a double-digit growth of 11 percent to 4,678 GWh in the first quarter, headlined by the real estate sector driven by demand for office spaces in central business districts, followed by the retail trade sector as mall operators expanded and repurposed spaces that attracted more customer visits.
Hotels, educational institutions and restaurants had significant consumption upswing on sustained increase in in-person events, with higher usage of cooling equipment to ameliorate increasingly warmer ambient temperatures.
Residential sales also surged 12 percent reaching 4,144 GWh by the end of March from 3,701 GWh a year ago, pushed by the prolonged use of cooling appliances at home.
Industrial sales rebounded to 3,448 GWh in the three-month period, or 3 percent higher than 3,336 GWh in the same three months in 2023.
The semiconductor sector played a significant role in driving the segment into growth territory, as key accounts continued to scale up on operations to expand electric vehicles (EV) chip production.
The food and beverage sector also experienced higher production as it geared up for the peak summer months, while the plastics sector was propelled by demand for food packaging and construction plastics.
Cement plants recovered from production stoppages in January and took advantage of the warm weather for frontload operations and increased production of raw materials.