Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla said Luzon consumed a record amount of power – 8,300 megawatts – during the summer months, particularly in May.
In an ABS CBN report, Petilla said the record consumption was not only because of temperature highs, but also because more people use air conditioning units. The Energy official noted that power service provider Meralco had to acquire electricity from the spot market at a higher cost in order to meet the demand.
Petilla, at the same time, defended Meralco’s most recent power rate hike of 22 centavos per kilowatt hour.
