MVP wants Meralco at forefront of EV development

MANILA, Philippines — Business titan Manuel V. Pangilinan is pushing for power distribution giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), a company which he chairs, to be at the forefront of electric vehicle (EV) development in the country.

He said Meralco should spearhead the charge in stimulating the demand for EVs in the country, as the company, with its network and capabilities, is also in the best position to spur the rollout of EV charging stations.

“We should be laying out those chargers. The problem is a chicken-and-egg situation. How can you lay the chargers if you only have a few e-vehicles? So if you’re going to do the charging stations, we have to stimulate the demand,” Pangilinan said.

He said Meralco is serious in pushing its sustainability agenda, particularly in promoting EVs.

“So we should be in that space. Create the demand and the charging stations will come in. Who is in the best position to lay out the charging network? Meralco. We got the network,” Pangilinan said.

“In terms of mass deployment of charging stations, it is Meralco, isn’t it? It got the resources, the network to do it, and capability to do it. So I think it is a civic duty of Meralco to do it.”

Meralco last March announced that it was forming a new subsidiary called Movem Electric Inc. that will engage in electric energy and other alternative energy sources.

Movem Energy was incorporated “to own, create, develop, manufacture, produce, assemble, configure, reconfigure, use, manage, maintain, operate, repair, improve, test, build, install, license, sell, market, distribute, lease, import and export, transport service networks utilizing electric energy and other alternative energy sources.”

It will also be engaged in component charging stations, hardware, software, batteries, vehicles, accessories, parts, gadgets, digital applications, and other equipment related to the business.

Meralco said these transport service networks utilizing electric energy and other alternative energy sources will be developed for the purpose of transporting passengers and merchandise both for the domestic and foreign markets.

It also includes investing, owning or holding interests in similar businesses to subsidiaries, affiliates or any entity in which the corporation has lawful interest.

“Movem serves as a provider and integrator of electric mobility solutions across the country. Going forward we are looking also beyond just provision of EVs and services. We are looking at making investments to stimulate demand and really shore up the supply of EVs in the country,” Meralco first vice president and chief sustainability officer Raymond Ravelo said.

“In terms of public charging stations, that is something we are keenly looking at and (we are) potentially looking at investments to support two-wheeler and three-wheeler swapping stations, but that is something that we still need to develop further,” he said.

Meralco continues to deploy electric vehicles in its fleet.

Ravelo said the company currently has 156 EVs in its fleet.

“That means we have a vehicle electrification rate of around seven percent,” he said.

“This year, we are aiming to deploy about 20 to 30 more, which will bring us up to about eight to nine percent, which is well above the standard set, which is five percent,” Ravelo said.

As part of its heightened sustainability commitment, the company has laid out plans to electrify 25 percent of its vehicle fleet by 2030.