THE Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has taken bold steps to reinforce its commitment to deliver stable, reliable, and efficient electricity service to customers across its franchise area by energizing nine major capital expenditure (capex) projects in the second quarter of 2025.
The completed projects spanning key urban centers in Metro Manila and high-growth areas in Bulacan, Laguna, and Quezon aim to support rising electricity demand, improve service reliability, boost grid efficiency, and strengthen the resilience of Meralco’s network amid evolving customer requirements and extreme weather conditions.
“These projects are part of Meralco’s broader network enhancement strategy, ensuring that our infrastructure is future-ready to meet growing energy demand while improving operational flexibility and service reliability,” Meralco First Vice President and Head of Networks Froilan J. Savet said.
Capacity additions
From April to June of this year alone, Meralco commissioned projects contributing a total of 450 megavolt-amperes (MVA) in additional capacity to support the load growth and improve service reliability in the cities of Makati, Pasig, Parañaque and Quezon in Metro Manila, as well as several municipalities in Laguna and Quezon.
The power distributor completed the ASEANA 115 kilovolt (kV) – 34.5 kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Substation in Parañaque City to support key economic hubs in the southern part of Metro Manila.
The new smart substation now serves the power requirements of business and commercial establishments including ASEANA 3, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Bayprime Hotel, Seda Manila Bay, Bayprime Hotel, and Uni-Asia International Prime Holdings Inc.
To enhance power supply reliability in central business districts in Metro Manila, the power distributor also expanded the Bridgetowne 115 kV – 34.5 kV GIS and Makati 115 kV – 34.5 kV GIS Substations.
The Bridgetowne Substation will serve the growing demand of customers in Pasig City and Quezon City, including Exxa and Zetta Towers, Giga Tower, Tera Tower, Opus Mall and GBF Center; while the Makati Substation caters to key customers such as Cash & Carry Mall, St. Clare’s Medical Center, St. Mary of the Woods School, SMDC Red Residences and residents in nearby areas.
In Southern Luzon, Meralco increased the capacity of the Tayabas Power Transformer to 300 MVA from 100 MVA to support load growth in portions of Quezon and Laguna provinces.
Improving network reliability
Meralco also energized five major projects intended to improve its sub-transmission system backbone, Savet said.
The power distributor increased the capacity of the Dila-Real 115 kV line, bolstering power reliability for customers in Laguna, including Calamba, Los Baños, Bay, Pila and Calauan,
In the northern part of its franchise area, Meralco energized key transmission lines in Bulacan, namely the Malolos-Tabang and Malolos-Calumpit 69 kV lines, to meet the increasing demand and support the Department of Transportation’s flagship North-South Commuter Railway project.
The company also launched its first fully indoor GIS switching station in Regalado, Quezon City. The project improves operational switching flexibility in portions of Quezon City and Caloocan City and boosts service reliability for critical facilities such as ST Telemedia Global Data Centers.
In Cavite, Meralco upgraded the Abubot Substation by installing three 115-kV circuit breakers and other associated equipment to support commercial and healthcare customers in Dasmariñas, General Trias and Imus. The project will also support large customers including De La Salle University Medical Center, Emilio Aguinaldo College, National College of Science and Technology, and San Miguel Yamamura.
All these projects are aligned with Meralco’s ongoing efforts to modernize its infrastructure and support the country’s socio-economic growth by ensuring continuous, adequate, and high-quality electricity supply for households, industries, and key public services.
“These infrastructure investments reflect our unwavering commitment to power progress and ensure that our customers have access to reliable, sufficient, and high-quality electricity. As demand continues to grow, we will continue to upgrade and expand our facilities and strengthen our distribution network which serves as the backbone of our efforts to support the country’s economic development,” Savet said.|
