The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) said it strongly supports the renewal of the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise, citing the electric company’s commitment to reliable electricity service, green energy initiatives, customer empowerment programs and social responsibility efforts.
“We urge the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises to favorably consider Meralco’s positive impact and approve its franchise renewal, thereby ensuring stability in the power sector and ultimately serving the best interests of the Filipino people and the Philippine economy,” the group said.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, former Senate committee on energy vice chairman, earlier said they would scrutinize Meralco’s performance once its franchise application is submitted to the Senate.
“These franchise renewals, my view always is that we have to use this opportunity to review the performance of the grantee. And that’s a good way of putting accountability to the grantee,” Gatchalian said.
“So, I will look at the performance of Meralco. The price, for example, since they buy power, and the service which includes connection, brownouts, speed of repairing lines etc,” Gatchalian said.
“For me, I have to look at the performance of Meralco before I can say whether to support it or not,” the senator said.
MAP highlighted Meralco’s role in ensuring a steady supply of electricity, and its efforts in promoting renewable energy (RE) compliance with a 64 percent share of the Green Energy Option Program’s (GEOP) total consumption within its franchise area.
The group noted Meralco’s leading role in retail competition under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), with a 65 percent customer participation rate. Meralco has facilitated the installation of RE systems for over 7,000 customers.
MAP said it recognizes Meralco’s implementation of the country’s largest smart meter program and its innovative time-of-use program that allows customers to save on electricity costs.
The group also acknowledged Meralco’s commitment to efficiency, consistently exceeding regulatory standards and achieving low system loss rates.
