DAVAO CITY— The Aboitiz Group vowed to achieve its goal of providing 4,000 megawatts (MW) of attributable new sellable capacity by 2020 highlighting its continued effort to hit the target in three years.
Anton Mari Perdices of the AboitizPower Distribution Group even hinted at exploring opportunities overseas aside from the local renewable projects already in the pipeline.
He said this is the Group’s strategy to seek out investment prospects in the ASEAN region. Perdices is looking at keeping the balanced mix strategy.
“We believe that the long-term energy security of the country can be solved by balancing sustainability, accessibility, and reliability of power,” he stressed.
Aboitiz is also looking forward to the full implementation of Open Access, which it believed they are well-positioned to compete. Perdices is referring to the full implementation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM).
In Mindanao, the Department of Energy is looking at the second quarter of 2018 to go full blast in implementing WESM. WESM is providing a competitive and transparent power market for Mindanao electricity consumers. It will lead Mindanao closer to the fulfillment of the intent to restructure the electric power industry in terms of efficiency, greater innovation, end-user choice, and returns to investments.
“We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to give the end user the power of choice – the power to choose his power supplier and the type of power he will consume,” Perdices emphasized.
In Mindanao, Perdices said the Group’s distribution utilities Davao Light and Cotabato Light continue to grow significantly, fueled by more investments in these
areas.
“Our power generation plants like Therma South, Therma Marine and Hedcor underline our strategy of balance – by providing power wherever and whenever it is needed – be it baseload, intermediate or peaking power.
“We continue to serve our customers to as far as Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and Surigao,” he disclosed.
He said that in the next several months, the Aboitiz Group will inaugurate the 68.8-MW Manolo Fortich project of Hedcor to add valuable renewable energy supply to Mindanao.