MANILA, Philippines - Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, plans to offer its smart grid solutions to Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the country’s biggest power distributor.
Schneider executive vice president for power Asia-Pacific Eric Rondolat said they are looking at potential business opportunities in the Philippines.
“We will offer to Meralco. We have been engaged in smart grid solutions and we will be glad to introduce this to the Philippine market,” he said.
Schneider has operations in more than 100 countries. It offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in energy and infrastructure, industrial processes, building automation and data centers/networks, as well as a broad presence in residential applications.
Focused on making energy safe, reliable and efficient, the company’s more than 100,000 employees achieved sales of more than 15.8 billion euros in 2009.
Rondolat said Schneider wants to aggressively expand its business presence in the Philippines by intensifying efforts to campaign for energy efficiency projects to both public and private entities.
While the Philippines is lagging behind in smart grid technology, Rondolat said the country should start exploring this option.
“At this point in time, there are still a lot to do before smart grid can happen in the Philippines. There are a lot of standards that need to be put up,” he said. “We are ready to help and give out support for the development of smart grid.”
Last year, Siemens AG, a global electrical engineering conglomerate, made an offer to Meralco to introduce smart grid solutions to further improve the distribution utility’s performance.
Meralco said utilizing smart grid technology would further improve its services to its customers.
With the entry of new partners including the Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT), Meralco is optimistic that various synergies would be developed in relation to the improvement of non-allied services such as implementation of pre-paid metering and broadband-over-power lines. These new synergies are part of smart grid technologies.
Aside from smart grid, Schneider also entered into an agreement with European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, First Gen Corp. and other energy efficiency stakeholders to embark on a project that will promote implementation of energy efficiency projects at the enterprise level.
A smart grid is defined as a form of electricity network utilizing digital technology. It delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital communications to control appliances at consumers’ homes.
This is believed to save energy, reduce costs and increase reliability and transparency. It overlays the ordinary electrical grid with an information and net metering system, that includes smart meters. Smart grids are being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence, global warming and emergency resilience issues.
It also includes an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all electricity flowing in the system. It also has the capability of integrating renewable electricity such as solar and wind.
When power is least expensive, the user can allow the smart grid to turn on selected home appliances such as washing machines or factory processes that can run at arbitrary hours. At peak times, it could turn off selected appliances to reduce demand.