Aboitiz Power delivers Cleanergy

Manila Times
Aboitiz Power Corp. (AP) said it has begun delivering renewable energy under its brand Cleanergy to a distributor in Pampanga. In a statement, AP said that its power supply deal with San Fernando Electric Light and Power Co. (SFELAPCO) commenced on September 26 after regulators found the former’s Tiwi-MakBan geothermal facilities, which will supply the utility’s power requirements, compliant with the required environmental, technical, and financial standards.

AP earlier agreed to supply 25 megawatts of Cleanergy to SFELAPCO, which inked an agreement on November 11, 2009.

Under the deal, AP will be SFELAPCO’s exclusive energy supplier in the succeeding 27 months until December 25, 2012, during which the maximum contract demand is expected to reach 70 megawatts. After a year, demand is expected to hit 90 megawatts.

“Part of Cleanergy’s thrust is to have a future wherein both people and business power their activities with cleaner and renewable power. We are well into that future, thanks to the companies and organizations that have made the responsible choice of choosing Cleanergy,” Erramon Aboitiz, AP president and chief executive officer, said.

AP is the holding company for the Aboitiz group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail and power services. It is a major producer of renewable energy in the country with several hydroelectric and geothermal assets in its generation portfolio.

SFELAPCO is a privately owned distribution utility that has an average energy requirement of 35 million kilowatt-hours per month for its residential, commercial and industrial customers. Its franchise area covers barangays in San Fernando City and in the municipality of Floridablanca, and Barangays Talang and Ligaya of the municipality of Guagua, all in Pampanga.

Antonio de Leon, SFELAPCO senior vice president, said the utility’s supply agreement with AP would allow the reduction of its rates and at the same time bring down carbon emissions.

“The deal with Aboitiz Power is a unique case of a win-win situation. We buy power at a cheaper price, the customer pays less because of no VAT on renewables and the world wins because of smaller carbon footprint from geothermal energy,” he said.

The SFELAPCO-Aboitiz deal would lead to approximately an average P0.40 per kilowatt-hour reduction in rates charged to the utility’s customers.

Last year, SFELAPCO’s rate averaged P7.60 per kilowatt-hour, around P4.30 per kilowatt-hour of which goes to the power generation charge. This is the component of power bills that goes to where distribution utilities like SFELAPCO sources the electricity they distribute to customers.

AP’s shares closed flat on Monday at P20.3 per piece.
EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO