Veco exec sees 5% growth in energy sales in 2015

With Cebu’s fast-growing economy, the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) is expecting a five-percent growth in energy sales this year as compared to last year’s  2.3 percent growth.

This is based on a projected economic boom by many economists who have been quoted as saying Cebu’s economy this year will grow further —  fueled by real estate, construction, outsourcing and the increase spending power of the consumer market, said Sebastian Lacson, Veco chief operating officer, yesterday.

“Our energy sales growth in 2014 has been quite lackluster and well below our general expectations for the year as we had planned in late 2013. This, however, is generalized for all the utilities across the country and may indicate some kind of slowdown in economic activity.”

He said last year’s slowdown in economic activity  has been corroborated by recent pronouncements by the  Neda (National Economic Development Authority) regarding 2014’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth especially in the third quarter  showing only 5.3 percent, lower than the projected 6.4 percent.

Energy sales grew by 2.3 percent year-on-year and as of October last year, the number of connections increased by four percent or nearly 379,000, Lacson said.

He also said that Veco will continue to invest in further improving the reliability and flexibility of their distribution network.

“We have installed various 69/23 kilovolt power transformers as well as electrical equipment, such as load break switches and reclosers, that allow remote operations.”

He added that they will also take their Cebu Unplugged program further on in its journey by continuing to espouse solar PV rooftop installations and encouraging optimal energy utilization.

“We will rely on technology to drive up efficiency at our full-service centers and provide our customers with self-help screens and more accessible mobile applications. For our network operations, we are using Google maps to enhance our cartography,” he said.