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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Trade & Industry devider Meralco seeks cooperative capital partnerships to cut power rates

Meralco seeks cooperative capital partnerships to cut power rates

Published Aug 20, 2026 04:07 pm
Amid persistent power reliability challenges in select provinces, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is pushing for partnerships to help cash-strapped electric cooperatives (ECs) convert into stock corporations. 
In an interview on Money Talks, Arnel Casanova, Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Distribution Utility Partnerships, explained that the power giant is actively seeking to infuse capital into EC operations to reduce electricity rates.
“Because Meralco comes in, the double-digit system losses of these electric companies will drop to single digits. Meralco currently has one of the lowest system losses in the country at five percent,” Casanova said on Thursday, Aug. 20.
He noted that other ECs struggle with system losses ranging from 10 percent to as high as 25 percent.
“If you are able to lower that to even a single digit, that’s worth billions of pesos in savings for the consumers. You get reliable power, an efficient utility, and cheaper electricity,” he added.
According to Casanova, rural cooperatives would also benefit from lower generation costs once they establish a sustainable power supply, with overall affordability driven by highly efficient operations.
Rather than taking over control, Casanova framed the initiative as a capital infusion partnership.
“Unlike other competitors who take over electric cooperatives by stripping their franchise, acquiring their assets, and terminating employees, our approach is different,” he added.
To execute this, Meralco would help convert ECs from non-stock to stock corporations, allowing the utility giant to inject capital and technology to boost operational efficiency.
Casanova pointed out that this transition is supported by the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), which enables direct ownership for member-consumers by granting them shares in the public entity.
Meralco is currently pursuing a partnership with Batangas I and II Electric Cooperatives (Batelec I and II) and encouraging them to hold competitive public bidding. However, Razon-led Prime Electric Holdings, Inc. has also expressed interest in providing a similar capital infusion.

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