One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the corporate social responsibility arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), energized 255 homes in several barangays in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan, allowing low-income families to have access to stable electricity service.
Through OMF’s flagship initiative Household Electrification Program, Meralco’s Sta. Maria Business Center and Plaridel Sector teamed up with the Municipality of Doña Remedios Trinidad to provide assistance and install individual service entrances for residents of Barangays Pulong Sampaloc, Camachile and Camachin – enabling them to have their own electricity connection and minimize the risk of fire hazards due to illegal connections and use of candles for lighting at night.
“Our residents greatly benefitted from this program, allowing their homes to have its own electric meter. One Meralco Foundation, Meralco, and its contractors’ efforts to ensure access to reliable electricity will improve their daily living conditions,” Doña Remedios Trinidad Mayor Ronaldo Flores said.
The electrification program also helped improve the lives of residents.
“We bought a new freezer so we could also sell ice and other frozen products in our sari-sari store. With internet access, my children can now research online for their homework and we can easily communicate with our loved ones,” resident Leah Laron said.
Stable electricity access allowed Laron, a One Meralco Foundation beneficiary, to expand her family’s sari-sari store business by selling ice and frozen products.
The program also allowed the residents to better manage their consumption and budget for electricity bills now that they have their own electric service.
“For 15 years, we relied on our neighbor for electricity access. The arrangement was to split the bill equally among three households regardless of power consumption. To limit this, we only use one electric fan and essential lights. Now, we can conveniently use more appliances at home including a nebulizer which helps me with my asthma,” resident Ana Marie Galvez said.
OMF’s household electrification program paves the way for basic services to be available to more underserved Filipinos, said Meralco chief corporate social responsibility officer and OMF president Jeffrey Tarayao.
“Bringing electricity to homes is at the heart of One Meralco Foundation’s mission. We empower not just the family by illuminating their homes, but we also unlock a world of possibilities for the community by enabling and enhancing productivity through new businesses which they can start, expand and evolve. Through this, we contribute positively not just to the community but to our country’s growth and development,” he said.
OMF has already energized more than 2,600 homes in Doña Remedios Trinidad since 2015.
The partnership with the local government was also recognized at the 2023 Meralco Luminaries, which honors outstanding customer-partners in nation-building efforts.
Meralco, through OMF, strongly supports the government in its pursuit of 100 percent electrification.
It also powers remote, off-grid public schools and helps communities become more productive by energizing livelihood facilities, rural health centers, and water access facilities, driving sustainable development opportunities to underserved communities in the country.
