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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider The Stock Market devider Meralco accelerates digital shift with Hubbell smart-meter deal

Meralco accelerates digital shift with Hubbell smart-meter deal

Published Feb 11, 2026 12:55 pm  |  Updated Feb 11, 2026 01:04 pm
In photp (from left): Aclara Meters Philippines Inc. President and General Manager Waldo Darvin, Hubbell Inc. Grid Automation Division President Erik Christian, Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho, and Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Networks Froilan J. Savet.
In photp (from left): Aclara Meters Philippines Inc. President and General Manager Waldo Darvin, Hubbell Inc. Grid Automation Division President Erik Christian, Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho, and Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Networks Froilan J. Savet.
Largest power distributor Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is accelerating its grid modernization efforts through a new supply agreement with a unit of Hubbell Inc. to deploy tens of thousands of smart meters across its franchise area.
In a statement on Wednesday, Feb. 11, the utility said Meralco entered into a partnership with Aclara Meters Philippines Inc. to deliver more than 72,000 smart meters starting this year.
The agreement, signed recently at the Meralco Operating Center in Pasig City, marked a critical step in the company’s decade-long plan to transition its entire customer base to advanced metering infrastructure.
Aclara’s smart meters are engineered to provide real-time monitoring and grid intelligence, allowing for remote data transmission and outage detection.
For Meralco, the technology is intended to shift traditional operations toward a more responsive "smart grid" model. These devices enable the company to conduct remote meter readings and perform connections or disconnections without sending technicians to the field.
For the end-user, the technology promises more granular insight into electricity consumption, potentially leading to better energy management and transparency in billing.
The deployment supports Meralco’s broader Advanced Metering Infrastructure program, which aims to install roughly 12 million smart meters over the next 10 years. The company currently has approximately 196,000 smart meters in operation, representing a small fraction of its total customer base.
Expanding this footprint is essential for the utility's planned Grid-Edge Operations and Control Center. This facility, expected to be operational within the next few years, will integrate low-voltage conditions into daily operations, allowing the company to monitor the grid at the household level.
Froilan J. Savet, Meralco senior vice president and head of networks, said the technology is vital as the grid becomes more complex with the rise of electric vehicle charging stations, residential battery storage, and distributed energy resources.
While Meralco’s existing System Control Center focuses on high-voltage distribution, the new infrastructure will provide visibility into the "secondary" network where individual customers connect.
Aclara Meters Philippines President and General Manager Waldo Darvin said the company is committing resources and technology to ensure a “smooth rollout” for the utility. The partnership underscores a shift in the Philippine power sector toward digital transformation as distributors face increasing pressure to improve reliability and efficiency.
Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho described the smart meters as more than just electronic hardware, calling them “enablers of transparency” that place the consumer at the center of the utility's digital strategy.
As the rollout progresses, the company expects the data gathered from these meters to play a significant role in how it manages evolving energy demands across Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.
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