MVP sees another record year for Meralco

MANILA, Philippines – Manuel V. Pangilinan expects his power giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to achieve a new record profit this year despite facing what he called its “worst challenge” amid the lingering uncertainties in the United States-Iran war.

“Yes, optimistic. I think the full-year profits would be ahead of last year,” the Meralco chair said when asked about the possibility of exceeding 2025’s earnings.

READ: Philippine risk profile worsens as Iran war fuels oil shock, economic crimes

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“Well, there could be new challenges that we don’t know. Right now, the worst challenge is the Iran-US situation. So it keeps getting revived, right? I mean, there’s a truce, a ceasefire, then it erupts again,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

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As the war that started in late February triggered a surge in global oil prices, Pangilinan earlier ordered Meralco to review its fuel position—especially liquefied natural gas, coal and diesel—as they could lead to higher power rates.

Meralco posted a 12-percent jump in its consolidated core net income to P50.57 billion last year. Gross revenues increased by 6 percent to P497.32 billion from P470.36 billion.

READ: Power generation lifts Meralco’s 2025 profit by 12%

Pangilinan declined to provide profit guidance for the year. But he noted that the first six months alone had already shown stronger figures compared to the same period in 2025.

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For the distribution business, Pangilinan said energy sales for May and June were higher by 4 percent and 2 to 3 percent, respectively.

Meralco, the biggest power distributor in the country, serves more than eight million customers in Metro Manila, Bulacan, Cavite and Rizal as well as select areas in Pampanga, Laguna, Batangas and Quezon.

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“So that all goes well. Then the generation business is doing much better than last year, especially with the onset of Terra Solar,” he said.

READ: MGen eyes Q1 2027 start for MTerra Solar Phase 2

“In the coming months, we’re already exporting, evacuating power to the grid and as progress continues toward completion by August of Phase 1, then we’ll be able to evacuate more power to the grid. So, generation looks good, even RES (retail electricity supply),” Pangilinan added.

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Meralco PowerGen Corp., a booming business segment of the Pangilinan group, is leading the development of MTerra Solar, a P200-billion solar farm in Luzon. It is slated for full completion by 2027. INQ