ALI unit to retail power

MANILA, Philippines - DirectPower Services Inc., a subsidiary of Ayala Land Inc., has obtained a retail electricity supplier license from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the state-owned regulator for the power sector.

The five-year license will allow DirectPower to supply electricity to qualified consumers in the electricity market, the company said.

It intends to focus primarily on supplying the electricity needs of Ayala-owned and managed malls, office buildings, business process outsourcing (BPO), hotels and affiliates in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, the company noted.

In its decision, the ERC said its evaluation showed that DirectPower has the technical, financial and managerial abilities to meet the requirements of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the country’s trading floor for electricity, to meet its contractual obligations.

In its application, DirectPower said that its parent company ALI infused P40 million in capital to support its retail electricity operations.

DirectPower initially plans to supply the energy requirement of customers in the electricity market that has a total average peak demand of around 50 megawatts.

ERC chairperson and CEO Zenaida Cruz-Ducut said a retail electricity supplier is crucial in the delivery of power to customers.

 â€œA retail electricity supplier plays a very important role in delivering power to contestable customers. The ERC has to ensure all applicants for a RES license are strictly screened, evaluated and determined to be fit for business. Stakeholders can rest assured of a stable regulatory framework that supports both a healthy competition among players and one which guards electricity consumers against market abuse,” said Ducut.