(The Philippine Star) | Updated September 11, 2017 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
Aboitiz Power Corp. is ramping up its renewable energy (RE) capacity as it sees
growing demand for cleaner power supply under the Retail Competition and Open
Access (RCOA) scheme.
Demand for renewable
energy has been growing, with more companies seeing the value of sustainability
as the power sector’s open access scheme went full swing, AboitizPower
executive vice president Luis Miguel Aboitiz said.
“There has been a
tremendous increase in the demand for RE in the last few years and we are happy
that AboitizPower’s Cleanergy brand has a strong presence in this space, thanks
to our significant capacity from our RE power plants,” he said.
“We will continue to
ramp up our RE portfolio to ensure that we will remain the renewable power
supplier of choice moving forward. This is consistent with our strategy of
achieving a balanced mix of energy sources for the country,” Aboitiz added.
Under RCOA, power
consumers with an average monthly demand of at least one megawatt (MW) can
choose from among licensed retail electricity suppliers (RES) accredited with
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
AboitizPower retails
electricity under subsidiaries Prism Energy Inc., Advent Energy Inc., and
Aboitiz Energy Solutions Inc.
RCOA has allowed The
Net Group (TNG) to explore various opportunities and studied various suppliers
who have the capacity to meet their requirements. It has been a retail
electricity customer of AboitizPower for all its properties in Metro Manila.
“When we did open
access, it was very challenging in the beginning. Luckily, we found a partner
with a great track record and who is very willing to work closely with us to go
through the requirements, technical procedures, and even the documentation,”
TNG co-president Ramon Rufino said.
“We had to go through a
competitive selection process as best practice. AboitizPower came out as the
winner in that process because they have been very supportive in all aspects
and we have a lot of shared commitment to the environment and sustainability,”
he added.
TNG recently added its
seventh green building – its biggest to date – with Net Park at the Bonifacio
Global City in Taguig.
Lucio Tan-led Eton
Properties has also converted several of its properties to be power by
renewable energy – even those which host the BPO sector.
“BPO operations need
uninterruptible, round-the-clock power supply, especially here in the
Philippines where majority of BPO companies cater to international customers
with different time zones. With AboitizPower as our power partner, we are
confident that we will continue to deliver on our promise of quality and
efficiency in our office developments,” Aboitiz said.
AboitizPower has also
started catering the renewable energy needs of Union Bank of the Philippines
and the Asian Development Bank.
UnionBank president and
COO Justo Ortiz said the decision to go renewable is driven by the bank’s
enduring sustainability principle focused on people, planet, and purpose.
Multinationals like
Nestle Philippines are also taking advantage of reliable renewable energy
sources. Nestle’s technical director Peter Winter partnering with AboitizPower
allows them to “continually look for better and sustainable solutions to reduce
their carbon footprint and protect the environment in a more sustainable
manner.”
AboitizPower currently
has a total net sellable renewable energy capacity of 1,263 MW and expects to
expand it further with the completion of its 69-MW Manolo Fortich hydropower
project in Bukidnon and the eight-MW Maris Canal hydro project in Isabela. It
is also commissioning its first biomass facility in Lian, Batangas through
subsidiary Aseagas.
Last April,
AboitizPower celebrated the successful restoration of the six-MW Binary 1 plant
at the MakBan Geothermal Plant.
Aboitiz said the group
will continue to invest in renewable energy technologies that are viable to
provide reliable, ample and competitively priced power to the country’s growing
demand for energy.
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