The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) expects “flat or slightly lower” power sales in the first half of 2025 compared with a year earlier due to the decline in summer temperatures in March to May.
Meralco Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Ferdinand Geluz told reporters over the weekend that initial figures for June showed moderate or flat sales; and at best, a slight improvement from last year’s performance.
For May alone, the sales volume fell 2.5 percent to 4,929 gigawatt hours (GWh) from the “record-high, El Niño-driven” May 2024 sales of 5,058 GWh, Geluz said.
Year-to-date energy sales stood at 22,149 GWh, he said. Last year, Meralco’s consolidated energy sales for the first half rose to 26,954 GWh from 24,792 GWh in 2023.
Meralco has yet to announce the sales results for June 2025.
The company said for the month of May this year, residential power sales grew 1.5 percent because of newly energized services. Commercial sales increased 0.7 percent, driven by growth in the retail trade and restaurant sectors, while industrial sales ended flat as growth in cement, construction semiconductor and steel were offset by declines in food, beverage and plastic products.
Geluz cited lower per capita consumption this year, especially for the residential segments, compared with last year’s hotter El Niño weather. Customer count, however, grew by almost 200,000 in May 2025 due to “strong customer energization numbers,” he added.
Unicapital Securities Inc. analyst Peter Garnace said that a slight increase in Meralco’s sales volume for the first half 2025 “aligns” with their expectations.
“[It] aligns with our expectation of modest growth for 2025, given last year’s high base effect driven by increased demand due to El Niño. However, this year we believe the election cycle-driven growth will sustain Meralco’s momentum, although at a slower pace than last year,” he said.
Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Pangilinan said in April the power retailer was expected to report “low double-digit” consolidated core net income growth this year.
Pangilinan said he will release a definitive outlook for the company’s full-year 2025 income when they announce the second quarter performance results.
For 2024, Meralco booked a 20 percent surge in net income to a record-high P46.47 billion, compared with the preceding year’s P38.68 billion, due to higher energy sales.
