January 21, 2019 | 12:01 am
MANILA ELECTRIC Co. (Meralco) is
considering a partnership with makers of electric vehicles as it aims for wider
adoption of the environment-friendly mode of transportation in the Philippines,
company officials said.
“Hindi lang namin alam (We
still don’t know) which arm of Meralco will do that,” Meralco Chairman Manuel
V. Pangilinan told reporters last week.
Asked about which segment of the
e-vehicle business that Meralco was planning to be part of, he said: “Probably
assembly.”
Alfredo S. Panlilio, Meralco senior
vice-president, confirmed that Mr. Pangilinan brought up the idea when he was
riding one of the eJeeps that the group launched on Friday.
“That’s the next step siguro
(maybe). And I think our chairman, MVP (Mr. Pangilinan), when we’re in the
[electric] vehicle when we toured around, [said] we wanted to explore some form
of cooperation with people like Star 8, but we haven’t started those
discussions,” he said.
Star 8 is the assembler of the 15
eJeeps that Meralco unit eSakay, Inc. presented to the public. Of these
numbers, five have started plying the route from Buendia-MRT station to the
Mandaluyong City Hall on Dec. 17, 2018.
“I think what MVP and the group were
thinking, is really how do you propagate electric vehicles. The key to that is
supply, and then the supply of these types of vehicles,” said Mr. Panlilio, who
is also chairman of eSakay.
He said Star 8 is led by an Israeli
national who has small assembly plants in the Philippines. He added that parts
that go into making the eJeeps were made and imported from China.
“Obviously China is building a lot.
So Star 8 could be one partner but we obviously know that there a lot more
suppliers out of China,” Mr. Panlilio said.
The officials said e-vehicles would
be complementary business to Meralco, which is the country’s biggest power
distribution utility with around 6.5 million customers.
The eJeeps of eSakay are fully
electric, emission-free, and compliant with the government’s public utility
vehicle innovations for convenience and safety. The vehicles are equipped with
side entrances, onboard Wifi and USB ports.
Although the fare for eJeeps rides
is paid in cash, it will eventually be under an automated fare collection
system. The vehicles also has GPS tracking system and CCTV cameras. The service
will also have priority seating for senior citizens and persons with
disabilities.
Mr. Panlilio said eSakay had
invested close to P2 million for each of its eJeeps.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder,
Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT, Inc. Hastings
Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest
Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the
Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Victor V. Saulon
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