From afar, the relatively low-slung Meralco Building in Pasig City beckons like a minaret on the road demanding some cheer.

It's the Christmastime appeal of the high-wattage, lavish light show that attracts a holiday pilgrimage by the thousands.

And when an electric company does it, it outshines all the rest in a big city already aglow with marquees and seasonal sparkle.

Not only do they glow brighter, but the solace of a million light bulbs at Meralco Liwanag Park carries a tune akin to a psychedelic fairytale accompaniment when a character morphs from toad to prince.

Or is the magic a chandelier that sounds like wind chimes?

Toward the end of every year, Meralco illuminates its facade and immediate environs as a nod to a tradition since 2011.

It's evocative of something that never quite gets old, especially for an ecstatic crowd of Meralco employees, who gathered in the dark last Friday as if anticipating a countdown to midnight.

The flick of a switch triggered a body electric and a flurry of emotions among the crowd.

The Liwanag Park, besides all that glitter, is essentially a shrine of roles that electricity indispensably plays in our lives.

There were nary a diorama of machines solving everyday problems, or nutcrackers and Frosty the snowman. But there were things that run on electricity to spark joy: A tram set, a belen, well-lit passages and walkways, a mockup church, a playground.

Electricity is amorphous like gas. To be rooted in service more than shareholder interest and aligned with a goal of converting energy into tangible metrics that directly improve people's lives, Meralco employees profoundly felt they are a part of something, if it means working round-the-clock to keep the lights on all year, especially at Christmastime, to make people happy.

Meralco has been energizing millions of households and businesses, and creating values through improving energy poverty in off-grid areas to generate jobs and income.