More than 3,000 Meralco employees, contractors, and partners took part in a full-scale earthquake simulation at the Meralco Operating Center in Pasig City, testing the company’s readiness for a 7.2-magnitude scenario along the West Valley Fault.
The exercise, the most comprehensive to date, was led by Meralco’s Business Continuity Management team and conducted without any pre-positioned resources—mirroring the unpredictability of real disasters. Participants performed high-angle rescue, fire suppression, collapsed-structure extraction, and mass-casualty triage as part of the intensified drill.
Beyond the standard duck-cover-hold protocol, Meralco teams assessed structural damage, activated business continuity plans, and deployed critical emergency facilities including an incident command post, emergency operations center, field hospital, mobile kitchen, and a fully equipped evacuation site.
To simulate communication challenges during major disasters, Meralco also coordinated with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines through satellite phones and set up improvised sectoral offices for displaced employees.
Observers from the Office of Civil Defense–NCR, the Pasig City DRRMO, and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation evaluated the drill as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen private-sector preparedness.
“The successful conduct of our full-scale earthquake simulation for ‘The Big One’ underscores Meralco’s unwavering commitment to safety and resilience,” said Meralco Executive Vice President and COO Ronnie L. Aperocho. “By rigorously testing our emergency response and business continuity measures under realistic conditions, we strengthen our ability to protect our people, sustain operations, and support the communities we serve.”
Meralco continues to participate in the quarterly National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill (NSED) as part of its commitment to safety, operational continuity, and disaster resilience.
