AboitizPower to bring in Thai infrastructure firm

MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. is looking to partner with a Thai infrastructure company to bolster its digital transformation initiative aimed at improving operational efficiency.

“I’m not going to announce yet the name of the entity, but we’re looking at partnering with a Thai major player in infrastructure. They’re big on data innovation,” AboitizPower president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio said.

Rubio said the partnership is targeted to happen by October or November.

Predictive analytics is among the innovation projects being pursued by AboitizPower to lessen unplanned outages across its thermal units through the use of alarms and warnings and help effectively manage dynamic operations and preventive maintenance of power equipment.

AboitizPower’s asset performance management predictive analytics system in its Therma South facility uses advanced pattern recognition analytics with machine learning and artificial intelligence to process data from machine sensors of critical assets and diagnose early warning signs of equipment failure.

“We are really focused on digital innovation. What we’re doing now is really making our baseload plants and doing digital twins. We have one TSI,” Rubio said.

Rubio said the plan is for the company to also roll out   digital twins at its Therma Visayas Inc. power plant in Cebu, as well as in its power facilities in Bataan.

“We’re confident in the data that is now in the platform. It’s just trying to test it and see if the simulation actually mimics the actual performance,” he said.

AboitizPower is keen on leveraging innovative technologies to create a better energy future for the country.

Rubio earlier noted the importance of innovation and data science in making impactful progress to move the company’s bottomline while benefitting consumers as well.

“It is a big investment to digitize. But the investment really is in the mindset, operators getting comfortable in using predictive analytics. It’s a cultural change,” he said.

AboitizPower launched last year its data innovation program in partnership with Aboitiz Data Innovation to underscore the company’s continued foray into artificial intelligence and technology to create shared value and make significant impacts in driving down the cost of electricity and improving power reliability and security in the country.