Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) projects an increase in its capital expenditure (capex) next year to expand infrastructure, upgrade systems, and roll out its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

Ronnie L. Aperocho, Meralco executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in an interview last week that annual expenses typically range from ₱26 billion to ₱30 billion.

The budget for the coming year could be even higher, Aperocho noted. “Right now, it’s at around ₱25 billion,” he said. The larger funding is slated for ongoing power projects, including the development of new substations and facility upgrades.

Meralco’s system-wide sales volume reached 50,880 gigawatt-hours (GWh) from January to September, a slight increase from 50,641 GWh recorded in the same period last year.

Core distribution utility (DU) sales volume, however, marginally declined to 40,719 GWh this year from 40,782 GWh a year earlier, as adverse weather conditions affected residential and commercial consumers in its service area.

“[The capex] is spread out,” Aperocho explained. “A large portion goes to customer requirements, the applications. Plus of course, we’re going to build new substations, replace the aging facilities... There’s also trials for [underground systems], plus AMI.”

He added that the AMI component is estimated at ₱8 billion and will be included in the company’s first regulatory period (1st RP).

AMI utilizes smart meters to allow real-time monitoring, faster outage detection and response, enable digital services, and ensure accurate billing, moving away from manual meter reading.

In addition to smart metering, Meralco plans to develop a complementary System Control Center (SCC) by 2030 to accommodate more renewable and smart energy innovations.

During the nine-month period, Meralco reported a growth in net income to ₱36.8 billion from ₱33.8 billion in the previous year.