MVP cites need for more power plants

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan is seeing the urgent need to accelerate the development of power generation facilities to cater to the country’s growing energy demand.

“The margin of available and dependable supply in this country over the demand is very thin,” said Pangilinan, chairman and CEO of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the largest power utility in the Philippines.

He made this point during a recent executive roundtable discussion organized by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and attended by Meralco officials and European ambassadors.

“We have to build more plants, whether conventional or renewable. We have to gain more capacity,” Pangilinan pointed out.

In the short term, the Department of Energy (DOE) expects power demand to increase by six percent annually until 2028.

By 2050, the DOE projects the country’s peak demand to reach 68.5 gigawatts, a threefold increase from the 16.6 GW recorded in 2022.

As such, Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) president and CEO Emmanuel Rubio highlighted the Meralco Group’s contribution to energy security and sustainability, powering a low-carbon energy transition.

MGen, through SP New Energy Corp., is currently developing the $4-billion Terra Solar project in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, which is poised to become the largest solar facility in the world.

Once completed, the solar facility is expected to provide electricity to about 2.4 million households and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 3.6 million tons per year.

“Through strategic partnerships, innovative solutions and forward-thinking initiatives, MGen and Meralco are dedicated to shaping a future where reliable and sustainable energy is accessible to all,” Rubio said.

ECCP vice president Jonathan Webster, for his part, reiterated the importance of engaging in discussions to share best practices and foster collaboration, which in turn could drive renewable energy (RE) initiatives and investments.

“This spirit of partnership overcomes the multisectoral challenges we face in achieving our shared objectives,” Webster said.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government wants to expand the share of renewables in the energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.