For many families in Novaliches, the simple act of switching on a light now means so much more. Through the efforts of the Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and its social responsibility arm, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), 169 low-income households across six barangays in Quezon City now have access to safe and reliable electricity — bringing comfort, safety, and new opportunities into their homes.

Through OMF’s Household Electrification Program (HEP), residents of Barangays Bagbag, Sauyo, Talipapa, Sta. Monica, Novaliches Proper, and Nagkaisang Nayon no longer need submetering arrangements with their neighbors. They now have their own electricity meters and can manage their power bills better.

But more than that, children can now study comfortably at night, families can store food safely, and small home businesses are starting to thrive.

By providing assistance to

low-income households within Meralco’s franchise area, OMF’s HEP contributes to the electrification of the country and the improvement of beneficiaries' lives.

Maan Cruz-Atienza, a resident of Barangay Novaliches Proper in Quezon City and a stay-at-home mother of three, has found ways to be productive at home while taking care of her children.

As a self-described “raketerang ina,” she juggles several side hustles to support her family of five. One of her main sources of income is online selling, where she offers everything from dishwashing soap to preloved bags — helping augment her husband’s earnings.

Beyond online selling, she also provides nail care services, offering gel manicures to neighbors and friends. Both activities depend heavily on electricity, which used to be a daily struggle. Without their own power connection, her family had to rely on long extension cords borrowed from other residents. Despite limiting their use to avoid overloading the wires — often at risk of short circuits or fire — they still paid as much as P1,000 a month just to run an electric fan and occasionally watch television.

“When our community was hit by a fire, I lost our source of light and WiFi. The items I was supposed to sell were burned, too. If it keeps going like this, nothing will happen with my live selling and I won’t make any money,” she shared in Filipino.

When Maan’s family was among those offered to avail of OMF's program, the couple jumped at the chance. Now with their own meter, they are paying almost half of what they used to pay their neighbor for power access — a big help for Maan and her husband, who can now save more for their family’s future needs. Light is now within reach for this ilaw ng tahanan in Novaliches.

“Life has really become easier for us. It’s a huge help in our daily lives; we can also save more due to lower costs, and there’s no more reason to worry. No matter what I do with my electricity, there’s no more issue with usage because I now have my own meter,” a grateful Maan said.

Direct access to safe and reliable electricity immediately improves the quality of life of households by providing families with the opportunity to work and ensuring their safety by displacing unsafe connections to the grid.

“I want to reassure our customers that we remain committed to delivering affordable, reliable, and continuous electricity service for our eight million customers,” Meralco vice president and head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said.

The program benefits many residents as it also helps lessen fire incidents caused by illegal connections, said Barangay Novaliches Proper Captain Asuncion Visaya.

The milestone was celebrated recently with a lighting ceremony attended by Meralco and OMF leaders and government officials.

“This is the fulfillment of our dreams. Some of us need an electricity connection to start a business, while some of us are worried when our children come home and we don’t have electricity supply,” said Quezon City District 5 action officer William Bawag.

Senior Citizen Partylist Representative Rodolfo “Ompong” Ordanes, who also graced the event, emphasized that OMF’s program provides significant relief, particularly for elderly residents who continue to manage household expenses. He noted that having their own electric meters allows households to better control their consumption and lower their costs.

“To all of our senior citizens, this help is not the only assistance you can get. For those with low electricity consumption, I strongly recommend looking into the Lifeline Rate Program. This is another step to lessen the burden of electricity costs for our most vulnerable elderly,” he added.

The Lifeline Rate refers to the subsidized rate given to qualified low-income electricity utility customers, which includes senior citizens, 4Ps beneficiaries, and those who are financially unable to pay their electricity bills at full cost, with a monthly consumption not exceeding 100 kWh.

Since 2011, OMF, through its Household Electrification Program, has energized more than 80,000 low-income households within the Meralco franchise area.

“Light illuminates not just the houses we helped but also the lives we touched. By helping low-income households gain safe and reliable access to this basic need, we invest in the potential of Filipinos, transforming low-income households into productive families so they can also cont ribute meaningfully to their communities,” said Meralco chief corporate social responsibility officer and One Meralco Foundation president Jeffrey O. Tarayao.