Some 1,300 families belonging to the Balikatan Samahan Mapulang Lupa Homeowners’ Association (BSML HOA) in Barangay Veinte Reales, Valenzuela City are now benefiting from safe and reliable electricity after their homes were energized through the Household Electrification Program (HEP).

The HEP is jointly undertaken by the One Meralco Foundation (OMF), Meralco Valenzuela Business Center, Meralco Valenzuela Sector, the Valenzuela City government, and the barangay council.

Resident Geralyn Gorgonio is among the HEP beneficiaries. Before, she and her family lived in the flood-prone area in Barangay Mapulang Lupa and relied on submetered electricity access so that they can use light at home. For more than nine years, her family strictly limited their use of electricity as neighbors charge almost double the rate of Meralco’s for their submetered electricity use.

Now, Gorgonio delights in finally having their own Meralco meter when their family relocated to the BSML HOA compound, along with other families who were also moved there from vulnerable areas in the city. Her worries about her second child getting sick due to extreme heat and her concern that her eldest son can study even at night have been addressed, as they can now use fans and light anytime they need it.

Valenzuela City Mayor Wes Gatchalian hailed the project as it would directly benefit all the families in the BSML HOA.

“In every opened light, darkness becomes bright. That is the symbol of a wish. The opening of light symbolizes a new future for our family,” Gatchalian said during the community electrification lighting ceremony.

Also gracing the ceremony were Meralco executives namely Home and Micro Business-North Business Area head Alleni Pascual, Valenzuela Business Center head Trixie Pescos, North Distribution Services head Sante Buella, Valenzuela Sector head Abraham Eneres, and OMF president Jeffrey Tarayao.

Since 2011, OMF through its HEP, energized more than 85,000 low-income households within the Meralco franchise area, enabling families to become more productive at home, to boost household income, and to contribute to the progress in their immediate communities and their provinces.