Meralco's 'Ondoy' damages reach P830 million, a third of its first-half profits

The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) said total damages it incurred from storm Ondoy has reached nearly one-third of its income for the first half this year. Meralco said revenue losses and equipment damages reached P830 million when operations were disrupted for a half-day during the storm's height on Saturday, September 26, the company said. The Lopez-led power distributor earned P3.2 billion from January to June this year. Foregone revenues reached P400 million or 66 gigwatts (gWh), Meralco executive vice president and head of networks group Ricardo Buencamino said. He expressed optimism that the losses would be recovered since its big-ticket customers such as factories will try to catch up on time lost due to the disruption. Two substations in Taguig and Bocaue still remain inoperable as of Wednesday, nearly two weeks after the storm made landfall in Manila. In the meantime, 41,000 Meralco customers -- estimated at 0.9 percent of its total customer base -- are still without electricity service. Since these areas remain under water, the company is still unable to restore power due to risks of electrocution. Equipment damages have reached P430 million, Buencamino said, adding that 136,000 meters have been ruined by the storm. A portion of equipment damages will be covered by insurance, he added. Moreover, he admitted that Ondoy may boost the company's system loss levels owing to its inability to restore electricity services in flooded areas. Besides being given "leeway" in settling their bills, the company will also temporarily half disconnections, especially in affected areas, Meralco senior vice president for Customer Retail Services Roberto R. Almazora. - GMANews.TV