SM Supermalls twin energy-saving strategies — reducing mall operating hours and generating their own solar power — directly reduce the demand for electricity from the national power grid. Easing this load creates a cascade of positive effects for all other electricity consumers.

By having a stable electricity supply, the grid is less likely to trip during peak demand preventing brownouts. For homes, this means families can rely on lights, fans and refrigerators, especially during hot summer afternoons and evenings, while keeping the appliances safe from power fluctuation.

Schools using digital tools, computers, or even basic lighting and electric fans can hold classes as scheduled. Hospitals can rely less on emergency generators to power ventilators, incubators, dialysis machines, operating rooms, blood banks, and vaccine refrigerators and freezers. A brownout can ruin millions of pesos worth of medicine.

Sari-sari stores, restaurants, computer shops, printing services, beauty salons and other businesses can stay open for full business hours, serving customers and generating income. Factories can keep production on schedule, jobs protected and supply chains stable. Rail systems and electric vehicles can serve thousands of commuters.

Police stations, fire departments and disaster rescue centers remain fully functional without switching to backup power, enabling faster emergency response.

Two-pronged strategy

In the Philippines, the mall is more than a place to shop. It is a second home. It is where families spend hot weekend afternoons, where teenagers meet friends, where senior citizens walk for exercise in air-conditioned comfort, and where communities gather during holidays. The mall even serves as a safe haven during emergencies, when commuters and motorists get stranded during bad weather.

SM Supermalls has always understood this. That is why, for decades, it has worked to keep the doors of its malls open and its lights on for businesses and for the millions of Filipinos who rely on these spaces as part of their daily lives, including those who come in simply to cool down and find relief from the heat.

Now, amid rising energy costs and summer temperature, SM’s commitment to sustaining communities is once more at the forefront. It does this through a two-pronged strategy of shortening mall hours and lessening pressure on the national power grid by utilizing renewable clean energy generated through its extensive, nationwide solar PV systems.