The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has reaffirmed its commitment to support the recovery of local hotel operators as they bounce back from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a webinar
recently organized by Meralco, the power distributor, which has long been a
partner of the Philippine Hotel Owners Association (PHOA), pledged to continue
providing stable and reliable electricity service, and energy solutions
befitting to the needs of the industry moving forward.
The
pandemic, at its peak in 2020, led to temporary closure of businesses and loss
of income for the hospitality industry. Despite the challenges, the industry
supported the government in its fight against the pandemic.
“For the
past two years, our customers from the Hotel Industry were among the hardest
hit with the sudden decline in occupancy. Their facilities were used for
quarantine, requiring them to operate as quasi-hospitals and to strictly
implement health and safety protocols while providing utmost care to travelers
that had to be accommodated. During this time, Meralco initiated contract
right-sizing to assist our customers with hopes of preventing further loss of
business and employment,” said Meralco Vice President and Head of Enterprise
and National Government Engr. Ma. Cecilia M. Domingo.
According to
PHOA Executive Director Benito C. Bengzon Jr., Meralco played a vital role in
helping PHOA members deliver on their commitments with energy-saving measures,
such as contract rightsizing and temporary waiving of the Guaranteed Minimum Billing
Demand (GMBD).
“PHOA sees
Meralco as an institutional and vital industry partner. We hope to strengthen
our relationship so that together we can continuously improve the delivery of
services to our clientele,” Bengzon said.
Raffles and
Fairmont Hotel Group, a member of the PHOA, similarly recognized the crucial
role that Meralco plays in the recovery of the industry.
“Meralco is
an essential partner in our business by providing for the electricity of the
hotels. Customer satisfaction is one of our goals and we could have not
attained it if power supply is unreliable,” said Raffles and Fairmont Hotel
General Manager Aubrey Ada.
As local
tourism takes off this year, Engr. Domingo said: “Meralco is more than happy to
assist the hotels to ensure energy-readiness once again. Further, their
aptitude for economic recovery through participation in the Interruptible Load
Program (ILP) is laudable.”
ILP is a
demand-side management program of the Department of Energy where large
businesses are asked to temporarily de-load from the grid when the Luzon grid
is placed under red alert.
Participation
of companies is crucial to the success of ILP, since this may spare an estimate
of 4,000 households and small businesses from power outages for every
1-megawatt of de-loaded power.
Among the
companies in the hospitality industry within Meralco’s franchise that are
enrolled under the ILP are Taal Vista, City of Dreams, Discovery Suites,
Diamond Hotel, Sofitel Manila, and Raffles and Fairmont Hotel.#
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