MANILA - Meralco said Ayala Property Management Corp (APMC) has agreed to voluntarily stop drawing power from the grid during periods of high energy demand to spare residential consumers from possible outages.
Meralco said APMC, which manages over 200 properties nationwide ranging from residential buildings to malls and estates, has committed to an additional 56 megawatts of de-loading capacity under the Interruptible Load Program (ILP).
“The ILP is an energy demand-side management program through which large-load customers are asked to use their generator sets or reduce their operations, instead of drawing power from the grid, to spare households
from power interruptions during instances of Red Alert or when supply is insufficient to meet the demand,” Meralco said.
APMC’s additional pledge brings the real estate firm’s total commitment to 144 MW from 88 MW and expands Meralco’s ILP capacity to 616 MW from 560 MW currently, the power distributor added.
APMC Chief Engineer and Chief Operating Officer Michael Magpusao said participation in the ILP is a win-win for both companies and communities, Meralco quoted the Ayala executive as saying.
“The ILP exemplifies the spirit of bayanihan because while the national government prepares the grid for a more reliable supply, we, in the load side, are doing our part to help communities,” he said in a recent Meralco
webinar.
WalterMart Chairman Abraham Uy also said the ILP program significantly lowered the occurrence of unplanned power outages thus preventing damage to their equipment.
“Meralco’s management of the ILP program benefits companies which no longer need to worry about surges,” he said, referring to sudden demand surges that could lead to power shutting off.
Meralco said it is urging more companies to join the ILP to help avert possible power interruptions, especially during the dry months—when electricity demand traditionally spikes.
It said that at present, there are 117 companies across the Meralco franchise area that are part of the ILP.
“Electricity consumption historically rises during the dry months because of the increased use of cooling appliances. That’s why we, in Meralco, continue to share a wealth of energy efficiency tips, not only to help our
customers better manage their power consumption, but also to encourage its adoption as a way of life,” Meralco Spokesperson and Vice President for Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga said.
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