The Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) will make further investments in infrastructure that will attract the entry of more hyperscaler projects in the country.
The company said data centers continue to grow steadily in the country and businesses demand more robust data management and efficient network expansion capabilities to support the scaling and strengthening of digital services amid a dynamic economic environment.
Ferdinand Geluz, Meralco senior vice president and chief revenue officer, said in his opening message in a recent forum that as early as 2020, the company has been providing packaged solutions that cater to hyperscalers and data centers’ needs, including master planning, value engineering, timely energization, energy and demand management, Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) day one switch and renewable solutions.
“As we strategically position the country in this transformative space, we at Meralco dedicate ourselves to fortifying this growth engine… Last year alone, we energized hyperscale-ready data centers with an initial capacity of 22 megawatts (MW) that can ramp up to 180 MW,” Geluz said.
“This service stresses our commitment to providing the critical power infrastructure essential for the seamless operation of these facilities. We now have more than 30 service applications in the pipeline with a total capacity of 1,200 MW,” Geluz added.
The Philippines has the potential to become one of the strategic leading hyperscale hubs in the region especially with the increasing demand on digital service usage from internet connectivity, social media, e-commerce and cloud or data services.
The Philippines is also considered to be strategically located in the Asia-Pacific region to service local and regional digital applications as it is surrounded by the world’s top economies such as China, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and the US.
Geluz said Meralco’s proactive approach to support the clean energy preferences of its customers is also crucial.
Geluz said Meralco is “recalibrating” its green energy supply portfolio to meet the clean energy preferences of partners which also aligns with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) push for RE solutions in the Philippines.
Ronnie Aperocho, Meralco executive vice president and chief operating officer, said the company is also focused on empowering enterprises with seamless connectivity through redundant power infrastructure support and tailor-fit solutions.
Aperocho said an integral part of Meralco’s commitment to support the hyperscale data center industry is addressing their key requirements for safe, adequate, reliable, affordable and RE.
“Meralco can even provide data center facilities with power supply redundancy through a double feed from an equally reliable power source, resulting in even more outstanding service availability. With Meralco’s unwavering commitment to keeping the lights on, especially for the country’s critical digital infrastructure, more hyperscale data centers will soon be energized by Meralco,” Aperocho said.
He added the company is continuing investments in smart and digital solutions that enable real-time monitoring and remote switching to minimize downtime and host an array of distributed energy resources that provide clean energy to power-hungry data centers.
Beyond the grid infrastructure, Meralco said its other subsidiaries can also offer end-to-end energy services and innovative solutions that may help data centers operate at optimum efficiency.
