El Niño heats up Meralco power sales

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July 6, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Power giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) ended the second quarter with higher energy sales as summer heat, intensified by El Niño, spurred greater use of cooling appliances.

Citing preliminary data, Meralco head of customer relations and services Charina Padua said energy sales rose by 0.6 percent year-on-year to 14,495 gigawatt-hours in the second quarter.

“Detailed analysis is still ongoing, but the increase is mainly driven by warmer temperatures with the onset of El Niño,” Padua told reporters over the weekend.

The figures do not yet reflect energy sales from Meralco subsidiaries Clark Electric Development Corp. and Shin Clark Power Corp.

The country’s largest power utility is expected to release its official first-half consolidated energy sales later this month.

Just last week, Meralco chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan hinted that the company is on track for another record year, buoyed by strong performances across its core businesses.

The distribution utility (DU) business, in particular, delivered robust results in the second quarter, while the power generation segment is expected to draw support from newly energized projects.

“I think the full-year (2026) profits would be ahead of last year,” Pangilinan said.

Meralco reached an all-time high of P50.6 billion in last year’s earnings, propelled by higher electricity sales and steady performance of the DU business.

Currently, the company provides electric service to more than eight million customers across Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

As part of its expansion strategy, Meralco is pursuing partnerships with other electric cooperatives to expand its customer base and extend its expertise to provinces across the country.

The company has also been calling on electric cooperatives in Batangas and South Cotabato to hold transparent bidding when selecting their partners.

Over the weekend, the board of Batangas II Electric Cooperative Inc. unanimously approved conducting a competitive selection process that will guide the evaluation of proposals from potential private sector partners.