AboitizPower eyes smaller firms in retail power push

Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) is eyeing a bigger share of the country's retail electricity market as relaxed government rules open the door for smaller businesses to choose their power suppliers.

The reduction of the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) eligibility threshold from 500 kilowatts (kW) to 100 kW effectively expands the pool of potential customers for AboitizPower's wholly owned subsidiary, AdventEnergy.

AboitizPower Chief Corporate Services Officer Carlos Aboitiz said in a statement on Monday that businesses should take advantage of the expanded program as tight electricity supply and the ongoing war in Iran continue to put pressure on operating costs.

“There are a couple of things that businesses can think to do today to try to seek relief on the power rates side and lower their cost structures. The [Energy Regulatory Commission] is increasingly lowering the threshold for when businesses can source their power directly from retail electricity suppliers,” he said.

Since June, the government lowered the RCOA threshold to 100 kW, allowing smaller electricity consumers previously tied to their distribution utilities to participate in the competitive retail electricity market.

“That means [those] who have smaller businesses, who have in the past been limited to distribution utilities, you can now increasingly have the option to source directly from power companies who could provide lower cost of power,” Aboitiz explained.

Apart from retail electricity, AboitizPower is also positioning its rooftop solar business, Solviva Energy, to benefit from companies seeking to reduce their dependence on grid-supplied electricity.

Aboitiz said declining costs of solar panels and battery storage systems are making distributed energy solutions more attractive, particularly for businesses seeking long-term savings on electricity expenses.

“Rooftop solar and batteries are increasingly proliferating in the distributed energy space and costs are coming down. They’re very competitive. Your payback periods are somewhere in the range of 3-5 years at the moment, depending on what you’re investing in,” he said.

The company's presence in both retail electricity supply and rooftop solar gives it two avenues to serve businesses looking for alternatives to conventional power arrangements.

Meanwhile, AboitizPower is also exploring nuclear energy as a potential long-term investment amid efforts to secure more reliable and affordable electricity supply.

Last July, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. in Gyeongju, South Korea, to explore cooperation on nuclear energy technologies and their potential application in the Philippines.

The agreement covers joint pre-feasibility studies, information sharing, and capacity-building activities, although no specific nuclear power project has been announced.

“I think we need to dare to be bold, especially in a time of challenge like we’re in today. An example of this in the energy sector is the idea of nuclear energy,” Aboitiz said.

“The Department of Energy and the national government today are daring to be bold with nuclear, and I think that the private sector is coming around to that.”

He said developing nuclear energy would require cooperation between the government and private sector, including tapping Filipino nuclear engineers working overseas and mobilizing private capital.

“We have to find a way to look past the cynicism and dare to be bold as leaders in order to unlock new possibilities. There’s a lot of potential in this country, but it’s hard to see that when things are so tough right now,” he said.