MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) has cut its capital expenditure for network improvements this year from P17.84 billion to P9.34 billion due to delays brought about by the lockdowns implemented to control the spread of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Ronnie Aperocho, Meralco senior vice president and head of networks, said procurement for the design, engineering and construction and for network improvement projects have been delayed due to the enhanced community quarantine imposed in Luzon.
Aperocho said P8.5 billion worth of capex would be carried over to next year.
“The remaining budget for this year would be allotted to address customer requirements and address load growth. We have also allotted close half a billion for BBB (Build, Build, Build program) and PPP (public-private partnerships) because we expect the government for the timely completion of these projects,” he said.
Meralco said the Department of Transportation (DOTR) has requested for the resumption of pole relocation works related to four priority projects: the Philippine National Railways North 1, Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 7, Lightway Rail Transit 1-Cavite extension and the unified common station.
“Design and engineering works for these projects have already resumed, in fact for MRT line 7 project, we were able to install 40 poles and conducted span cables during ECQ. We’re currently coordinating with DOTR for the release of more IDs for our working personnel and contractors, and with the DOE (Department of Energy) to grant us exemption from pre-arranged power interruption which are necessary for us to relocate our facilities,” Aperocho said.
The company booked a 4.8-percent rise in its energy sales with 10,879 gigawatt hours (GWh) in the first quarter of the year from 10,381 GWh in the same period in 2019 as customer count reached 6.93 million in the period, a 3.8 percent increase against last year’s 6.68 million.
