THE renewable energy subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is targeting to double its installed capacity this year and reach a total of 40 megawatts (MW), as more residential customers turn to solar rooftop systems to power their homes.
“We’re close to 20 MW already of installed capacity for Spectrum,” Victor S. Genuino, president and chief executive officer of Meralco unit MSpectrum, Inc. told reporters after the launch of a solar rooftop project on Monday.
He said the company has a “big target” this year, including the expansion of its microgrid facilities on Isla Verde and Cagbalete islands.
“I think [for this year], we’re gonna aim to double. Some of it kasi are PPAs (power purchase agreements), ’di ba we have our existing PPA contracts, and then the others we will just add. So we’ll carry on the PPA for the following years,” he said.
“Maybe we wanna add an additional 20 MW this year. That would be good,” he added.
MSpectrum, or the Spectrum trade name it uses, is behind the power microgrid system in Cagbalete, a fishing island village and an expanding tourism spot in Quezon province.
In July last year, the system was launched after the completion of a hybrid generating plant that features 60 kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar photovoltaic system, 150-kWh battery energy storage, and two units of 30 kW diesel generators.
Initially, the microgrid will provide 24/7 power to around 200 households in Cagbalete, which Meralco described as a 1,795-hectare water locked island with two barangays. The island falls under the distribution utility’s service franchise.
Meralco previously launched a hybrid generating power facility in Isla Verde in Batangas province.
“We’re exploring a lot of different projects now. Think of it as anything off-grid,” said Mr. Genuino, who is also Meralco first vice-president and head of customer retail services and corporate communications.
“There are off-grid communities that still are unserved outside of our franchise area. There are different commercial establishments that don’t have access to direct power — resorts, for one, mining communities, agricultural farms. These are all target opportunities for microgrid,” he said.
He said what was committed by Spectrum this year is to expand the capacity of the Isla Verde project and to complete the second phase of the Cagbalete project. He said the initial phase covered the provision of power generation sets, but the second phase will be to put up solar panels and the batteries.
“We’re targeting no later than maybe the middle of this year, that should be completed already,” he said.
“Siguro less than 1 [MW] each,” he said, when asked about the resulting installed capacity in the islands.
Mr. Genuino said that he was hopeful that other industries would open in the two islands once power supply becomes stable.
He said Spectrum would also be offering more residential solar rooftop systems, including “big customers” that would be coming soon.
“I think this year we will see a lot more residential customers and small businesses adopt to solar,” he said. “We can go nationwide.”
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
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