Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has partnered with US-based technology firm Itron, Inc. to accelerate the rollout of its Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) program. 

The Pangilinan-backed power distributor said Wednesday that the partnership will allow the company to deploy Itron’s Gen5 AMI solution to support near real-time, two-way communication between its operations and customer endpoints, improving outage response, billing accuracy, and overall system reliability. 

As part of the initial rollout, Itron’s AMI solution with Intelligent Connectivity will manage 73,000 endpoints across Metro Manila, with plans for a multi-year expansion to cover the rest of Meralco’s service areas.

“With Itron’s Gen5 solution, we are building a smart grid that not only supports the country’s push toward advancing the digital economy but also enhances Meralco’s customer-centricity through improved billing services, greater customer visibility into their energy use, and improved response times to outages,” Meralco Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Ronnie L. Aperocho said. 

“We look forward to laying the foundation for a smarter, more sustainable energy future for the Philippines’ power sector.”

Itron’s AMI technology utilizes an open IPv6-based network that combines Gen5 mesh and cellular communications to enable smart metering and other grid-edge applications, including distributed energy resource integration, electric vehicle readiness, and outage management.

“We are proud to be a part of Meralco’s smart grid journey. Our proven, scalable Gen5 solution is upgrading the way Meralco delivers, measures, and manages electricity. The solution is designed to support multiple meter brands, giving Meralco the flexibility to scale without vendor lock-in,” Itron Senior Vice President of Networked Solutions John Marcolini said. 

“For a utility with such a large and diverse service territory, that flexibility is essential to future-proofing deployments and reducing total cost of ownership. We look forward to working together to help Meralco modernize its infrastructure, improve reliability, and deliver greater value to its customers, today and well into the future.”

Meralco has committed to building a more responsive and customer-centric energy system while contributing to the country’s transition to a digital and sustainable economy.

The company currently serves more than eight million customers and continues to invest in grid modernization and resilience programs.