On ASEAN energy, Terra Solar, and PEPIF 2026

Sustaining our high growth has become elusive for the Philippines recently. Our average GDP growth of 6.3% a year in 2022 to 2024 slowed down to 4.4% in 2025, largely due to soured investments and lower construction activities as results of the ongoing infrastructure corruption scandal.

While the governance and political aspects of the corruption issue are being addressed, the energy infrastructure aspect must also be addressed because when many big investments start coming in, they should not be met by blackouts (as I like to refer to then, Earth Hours) necessitating that they buy big and expensive gensets.

I computed the power generation per capita of the ASEAN-6 countries and our four industrialized East Asian neighbors in 2006 or 20 years ago, and 2024, which had the latest comparative data available. In 2024, the Philippines had the lowest generation of only 1,148 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per capita. Thailand had twice that number, Vietnam nearly triple, Malaysia nearly six times, Singapore nearly nine times, and South Korea and Taiwan had 10 to 11 times the power generation of the Philippines.

The main driver of the high levels of power generation of our neighbors is their high coal use. In 2024, our coal generation was only 701 kWh per capita. Vietnam had twice that number, Malaysia four times, China six times, and Taiwan nearly seven times that of the Philippines (see Table 1).

I also computed the Coal/Total generation or (C/T) ratio of these countries, then their average GDP growth over the past two decades. In 2024, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam had C/T ratios of 46% to 61%. Thailand and Singapore are LNG users and their Gas/Total generation ratio was 68% and about 98%, respectively.

Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan had lower C/T ratios of only 30% to 39% in 2024 while China had 58%.

One notable thing is that five countries with high C/T ratios of 46% and above also had a high average GDP growth of 3.9% to 6.1% from 2016 to 2024. Meanwhile, countries with C/T ratios of 39% and below, or which were more of LNG users, had lower average growth of 0.4% to 3.3%. These were Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (see Table 2).

MTERRA SOLAR ENERGIZATION
Last week, on Feb. 12, Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN), through its affiliate Terra Solar Philippines, Inc. (MTerra Solar), inaugurated The First Spark: MTerra Solar Phase 1 Initial Grid Synchronization and Energization in Gapan, Nueva Ecija. Phase 1 is huge — 1,288 megawatts-direct current (MWdc) of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity as of end-January 2026, with 622 battery energy storage system (BESS) units already installed.

Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin noted that developments of this scale are “essential to supporting the Philippines’ long-term energy security… This power plant alone — once completed — will be producing power for 10% of Luzon.”

MGEN President and CEO Emmanuel V. Rubio emphasized that “MTerra Solar proves the Philippines can build big — and build fast. Today’s energization is not the finish line; it is the start of a bigger journey that will expand our capacity, broaden our impact, and demonstrate that the Philippines can lead in delivering renewable energy at scale.”

National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) Head of Transmission Planning Redi Allan Remoroza emphasized that “As the system operator and transmission network provider, NGCP recognizes today’s energization as a key infrastructure readiness milestone.”

PEPIF 2026
The Philippine Electric Power Industry Forum (PEPIF) 2026, organized by the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), will be held on March 12 at the John Hay Convention Center in Baguio City. Key speakers include the provincial Governor of Benguet, the Energy Secretary and Undersecretaries, the ERC Chairperson, the ADB lead for energy, and major corporate players including the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association and the SN Aboitiz Power Group.

A big panel discussion in the afternoon is focused on the theme, “The Energy Trilemma in the Philippines: Pathways to Security, Sustainability and Equity.” The six panel speakers will be Energy Undersecretaries Mylene Capongcol and Mario Marasigan, Energy Regulatory Commission Director Sharon Montaner, PIPPA Chairman Roman Miguel de Jesus, Ateneo Economics Professor Fernando Aldaba, and the NGCP’s Redi Allan Remoroza.

I will be the moderator of this panel of high-caliber speakers. My task is to steer the discussion to focus on the theme and not deviate from it, and bring out the best insights from the speakers so I will speak less and let the panelists speak more, setting aside my hat as an opinion writer.

The IEMOP has sent invitations to all key energy players in the country. This looks like another exciting, stimulating activity for the Philippines’ energy sector.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. Research Consultancy Services, and Minimal Government Thinkers. He is an internationa fellow of the Tholos Foundation.