Power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has secured additional 56 megawatt capacity commitments from Ayala Property Management Corporation (APMC), which will be utilizing its own generating assets for its power needs when necessary.

In a statement to the media, Meralco said it has gotten pledges of additional 56MW of capacity that can be shaved off from its system demand as APMC will be utilizing its own generating assets.

The additional new commitment has brought the real estate firm "within-the-fence electricity generation"  to 144MW from what it previously promised at 88MW.

The APMC commitment falls under the interruptible load program (ILP), which, in turn, helps shore up supply within its network when grid supply would run tight within the stretch of the summer months.

The ILP is an initiative backed by the Department of Energy (DOE), so the utilities can have added measure on building up their supply buffer, in case available power supply would turn extremely strained as demand would peak during the summer period.

Meralco, the country’s biggest power utility, further reported that at this stage, it has already gotten the nod of at least 117 ILP participants with estimated 616 megawatts of capacity that can be reduced from Meralco’s network when warranted.

The company expounded that “the ILP is an energy demand-side management program through which large-load customers are asked to use their generator sets or reduce their operations, instead of drawing power from the grid.”

Such measure, according to Meralco, will “spare households from power interruptions during instances of red alert or when supply is insufficient to meet the demand.”

The supply-demand outlook presented by the DOE is not projecting occurrences of ‘red alert’ that could plunge Luzon grid into rotational brownouts, although the agency has not discounted probabilities of power service interruptions if major power plants would suddenly conk out.

But as asserted by Michael Magpusao, chief engineer and chief operating officer of APMC, “participation in the ILP is a win-win for both companies and communities,” adding that such initiative “exemplifies the spirit of bayanihan because while the national government prepares the grid for a more reliable supply, we, in the load side, are doing our part to help communities.”

That business segment of Ayala Land has been managing over 200 properties nationwide ranging from residential buildings to malls and estates.

Abraham Uy, chairman of WalterMart, similarly vouched on the benefits of the ILP program – primarily on lowering the chances of power service interruptions, as he stated that “Meralco’s management of the ILP program benefits companies which no longer need to worry about (demand) surges.”

Beyond the ILP as a stop-gap measure to thin supply dilemmas in the Luzon grid, Meralco Vice President Joe Zaldarriaga reiterated that “electricity consumption historically rises during the dry months because of the increased use of cooling appliances. That’s why we, in Meralco, continue to share a wealth of energy efficiency tips, not only to help our customers better manage their power consumption, but also to encourage its adoption as a way of life.”