Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is pursuing an aggressive anti-electricity pilferage campaign in a bid to ensure stability and reliability of its distribution network, while promoting public safety.
Beyond proactive inspections of electrical facilities and joint efforts with law enforcement to crackdown illegal connections, Meralco is leveraging smart technologies and continued investments to upgrade its facilities to lower non-technical system losses attributable to illegal service connections and meter tampering.
In a radio interview on Tuesday, Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga also highlighted the importance of the government’s “Brigada Kontra Jumper,” an initiative recently launched by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Under this initiative, the DOE urges the public to report suspected illegal electrical connections, jumpers, and tampered electricity meters through the eGovPH platform.
Zaldarriaga said illegal connections can overload distribution facilities and potentially cause transformers to fail, disrupting electricity service not only for those involved but for entire communities.
“The battle against illegal connections, against jumpers and tampering is not just Meralco alone, it’s a societal issue,” he said as he cited Meralco’s continued coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to address reports that are in violation of Republic Act No. 7832 or the Anti-Electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act.
To address pilferage and reduce system loss, Zaldarriaga said Meralco is also eyeing the gradual rollout of smart metering technologies, which can make meters more difficult to tamper with and allow irregularities to be detected more quickly.
Unlike conventional meters that require manual reading and physical inspection when tampering is suspected, smart metering technology can automatically capture consumption data and help identify unusual activity, while also reducing the possibility of errors associated with manual meter reading.
Zaldarriaga further said that Meralco continues to pour in significant investments to modernize and upgrade its infrastructure including substations and distribution lines, which is critical in improving the efficiency and reliability of the entire distribution system.
“This is where investments by the distribution utility come in. At Meralco, we have made significant investments in our capital expenditures to improve the distribution system, and these investments are paying off. We have brought technical system losses down and our continued investments in capital infrastructure, including new substations and strengthening our distribution lines, have played an important role in improving the efficiency and reliability of the network,” he said.
These efforts to modernize the network and address electricity pilferage, the official added, are ultimately aimed at ensuring that it can provide the level of service expected of a distribution utility and deliver electricity to customers reliably, including during challenging conditions.
The rollout of smart metering technology and upgrade of power infrastructure, however, are subject to regulatory approval, he said.
“It is important to balance the utility’s ability to modernize its system with the impact of these investments on consumers. As a distribution utility, we need the necessary resources to implement modernization efforts that will improve our service. At the end of the day, our responsibility is to provide quality and reliable service to our customers and ensure that we deliver the level of service expected of us, including reliable electricity 24/7,” Zaldarriaga said.
