The core net income of power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) went up by 13 percent to P24.608 billion last year compared to the leaner P21.711 billion in 2020 due to robust energy sales.

On the distribution firm’s reported net income, this climbed significantly by 44 percent to P23.498 billion in 2021 versus P16.316 billion in the prior year, as presented to the media by Meralco Chief Finance Officer Betty Siy-Yap.

She similarly indicated that the consolidated revenues of the power firm inched up by 16-percent to P318.5 billion from the previous year’s P275.3 billion; while electricity revenues posted a growth of 15-percent to P309.2 billion vis-à-vis P267.9 billion in 2020.

According to Meralco President Ray C. Espinosa, the consolidated energy sales of the company had been up 6.0-percent to 46,073 gigawatt-hours as “industrial sales had already returned to pre-pandemic levels.”

It was emphasized that on a system-wide basis, the aggregate energy sales of the Meralco group summed up to 57,200 GWh -- including the 5,459 GWh sales logged by its PacificLight Power Ltd. facility in Singapore; as well as the sales contribution of its various subsidiaries in the Philippines, namely Global Business Power Corporation; San Buenaventura Power Ltd. Co. and the PowerSource First Bulacan Solar Inc.

And as the power firm’s subscription base continuously expands, Espinosa noted that “our customers will always be at the center of what we do. The improvements and innovations that we implement are meant to ensure that we provide the best service – one that remains reliable and consistent even in the face of unprecedented challenges.”

The Meralco chief executive stated that in terms of sales mix, the bulk was still attributed to the demand of residential end-users with 37-percent share; followed by commercial sales with 33-percent fraction in the pie; then industrial sales with 30-percent share.

“Continued work-from-home and remote learning set-ups amid granular lockdowns pushed residential sales volume to grow 3.0-percent to 16,913 GWh from 16,488 GWh year-on-year, despite the slowdown in the second half of 2021 due to coolest temperatures recorded in the last five years, as well as increased mobility of vaccinated individuals outside their homes,” the power firm explained.

At the same time, commercial sales volume escalated back to near pandemic-levels due to “the ramp-up of vaccination activities and ease in restrictions, as well as higher foot traffic and relaxed rules for minors that drove demand in the retail, restaurants, public transport and hospitality sectors.”

In the case of industrial end-users, the uptick in their electricity demand had been “backed by the strong performance of the semi-conductor industry with the high demand for microchips, electronic parts and devices; as well as higher operational output in the construction-related sectors like cement and steel; food and beverage and plastics industries.”

The customer-count of the utility firm had also grown by 4.0-percent; and that already scaled up to 7.4 million as of December last year from 7.1 million within the same period in 2020 – mainly due to all-time high record on energization of new customers.