AboitizPower inks 1st green energy deal

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. has clinched its first Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) deal with a Malabon-based ice manufacturing firm.

The company’s retail business unit Advent Energy Inc. signed up Vita Tropic Ice Co.  Inc. as its first GEOP customer, with the partnership commencing on March 26.

Vita Tropic business development head David Co said the partnership with AboitizPower allows the company to be one of the first GEOP customers in the country today.

“Through concrete solutions that use the best practices, our partnership built on trust and shared values give us the power to create meaningful impacts to build a better world for a cleaner and more sustainable future,” he said.

AboitizPower has already received GEOP permits from the Department of Energy (DOE) for its retail companies Advent Energy Inc., Aboitiz Energy Solutions Inc. (AESI), and Prism Energy Inc.

With the DOE-issued permit, these entities are authorized to forge supply contracts with qualified GEOP customers.

The company fully supports GEOP, which is seen as a key driver of renewable energy growth in the Philippines, AboitizPower senior vice president for commercial operations Juan Alejandro Aboitiz said.

“This gives more customers the option and opportunity to join the movement towards a sustainable energy transition. We’ve been looking forward to the implementation of GEOP and now that it’s finally happening, we’re confident that we have the ability and expertise to serve the needs of the GEOP market,” he said.

GEOP, a salient point of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, is a voluntary policy mechanism that provides electricity end-users with an average peak demand of at least 100 kilowatts (kW) for the past 12 months the option to switch to renewable energy sources and choose their own renewable energy supplier.

The GEOP rules took effect on Sept. 3, 2021, with a transitory period of three months.

So far, the DOE has authorized 18 retail electricity suppliers (RES) to supply renewable energy to eligible large power users under the GEOP.

The program is among the DOE’s efforts to attain the objectives of the Renewable Energy Act to accelerate the development of RE resources, achieve energy self-reliance, and mitigate the effects of climate change.

It also allows consumers to contribute to the country’s energy sustainability goals.