San Miguel Corp. (SMC) announced plans to further expand its portfolio in the energy sector by putting up a battery storage manufacturing facility in the country.
“I also want to get in battery storage manufacturing using nickel ion so that we will no longer buy it. We can produce it and export as well and we can build this anywhere,” said SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang, in a briefing on Monday that
Earlier, SMC also announced plans to put up a $500- million electric car battery plant in Dinagat Islands.
Ang said SMC’s actual battery energy storage projects located throughout Luzon will soon total to 1,000 megawatts (MW).
“It’s currently at 500 MW and will reach 1,000 MW very soon within the next few months. We hope to complete it before the peak season. The 500 MW is ready to operate but still lacks license to run. We are still waiting for the Department of Energy for rules on battery storage since there are still no policies at present,” Ang said.
SMC said its battery storage projects can be tied to renewable energy projects to store excess capacity during off-peak hours. Power can be sold to the grid or to direct industrial customers during peak hours for between P2 and P3 per kilowatt hour.
Meanwhile, SMC said it welcomes the decision of the Albay Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aleco) to manage again the power distribution in the province after its member-consumer-owners (MCOs) voted to terminate the concession agreement with SMC Global Power Holdings Inc., owner of Albay Power and Energy Corp. (APEC).
Ang said the company is waiting for the National Electrification Administration’s (NEA) impending takeover of Aleco.
Ang said the electric cooperative has been experiencing problems in collection of payments and SMC has been subsidizing the utility for the past years.
In a statement on Monday, NEA said reverting the operations from APEC to Aleco can happen by first quarter next year based on the electric cooperative’s board resolution.
“Aleco shall not takeover the usual operations until the exhaustion of the period as required by the said clause which should not be later than Feb. 25, 2023, being timeline set in view of the preparations and groundworks that shall be arranged by Aleco,” the resolution read.
Pending the takeover, APEC is still bound to continue to service the MCOs of Aleco.– Jed Macapagal
