Meralco exploring possible tie ups with power utilities

The Manila Electric Co., the country's biggest power distributor, Monday said it would welcome a possible partnership, merger, or consolidation with other power utilities. Meralco's chief operation officer Oscar Reyes said that the company is already exploring talks with various firms for possible partnerships. "We are in discussion with a number of parties, not only for clean coal, but also for natural gas either piped gas or imported liquefied natural gas," Reyes said. "Or, maybe, we can invest. Maybe, we can bring our people and our track record to them," Reyes said. "I think we have the experience of efficient distribution management. We have the financial resources. We have the facilities. We have the people. What we would like to do is see if we can offer that to other areas," he added. Earlier, Meralco president and CEO Manuel Pangilinan said the company is open to possible joint ventures with power-generation firms to ensure the company's steady power supply. "We're not ruling out prospects of a partnership. It's pretty much open to any formulation that is able to help us manage the power rates moving forward," he said, clarifying that should Meralco find partners, it would "take a controlling position." Meralco is presently servicing four million consumers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. —JE/VS, GMANews.TV