BIZ BUZZ: Pricey power

Big consumers of electricity in Metro Manila and nearby provinces such as manufacturing companies are up in arms over the sudden and significant increase in their monthly electricity bills, brought about by attempts of their retail electricity suppliers (RES) to pass on the surge in production costs caused by more expensive fuel and a weaker currency.

Sources told Biz Buzz that they had entered into fixed price contracts with their suppliers precisely to lock in their costs. But their suppliers are now telling them that they had the right to recover the added costs, not just starting May or June this year for some customers, but retroactive to January this year, citing the rapid and unforeseen escalation in the cost of fuel, particularly coal.

A number of these power users have already filed complaints with the Energy Regulatory Commission, but a lot more grumbling companies are mulling over more drastic measures such as taking their retail electricity suppliers to the regular courts. One had already gone ahead and even secured a temporary restraining order.

Sources said that some of these consumers had seen their power costs go up by over P200 million since the start of the year, for example, which will also be ultimately passed on to ordinary Filipinos already burdened by high inflation.

Not all RES, however, have suddenly been sending hefty power bills with threats of disconnection that these companies cannot afford, thus some are jumping ship to the rival companies in the small circle of providers. But since they cannot transfer without notice and some certificate of good behavior, they have to pay their bills before leaving, albeit under protest.

It remains to be seen how this will be resolved by both the government and the private sector, but what’s sure is that there is bad blood between some suppliers and their customers, who are eager to cut ties and bring their business elsewhere. Perhaps for good.

— Tina Arceo-Dumlao

San Miguel’s goal: ‘747’

San Miguel Corp. (SMC) is expanding its forestation and carbon capture program as the listed conglomerate continues to scale up its climate action initiatives.

SMC, through power subsidiary SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. (SMCGP), plans to reforest areas around its battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities, which are already installed or being constructed.

These areas include Albay, Bohol, Cagayan, Cebu, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, Isabela, Laguna, Leyte, Misamis Oriental, Pampanga, Pangasinan and Tarlac.
SMC president and CEO Ramon Ang said planting trees around the new BESS project sites makes sense as it marks a major step toward strengthening the entry of renewable energy capacities in the future.

Currently, SMCGP is building 31 BESS facilities with a total capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW), touted as the first and largest such network in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

So far, it completed 500 megawatt-hours (MWh) of BESS facilities nationwide.

“The battery facilities, which will minimize power wastage and redirect otherwise unused capacity to remote areas, are regarded as the best and most sustainable technical solution to the country’s power quality and reliability issues. They are seen to balance and improve access to power nationwide,” the firm said.

“More importantly, it will make viable use of intermittent renewable sources such as solar and wind by efficiently storing the energy for electricity when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing,” it added.

Since SMCGP launched its Project 747 in 2019, it has yielded a total of 5.01 million upland and mangrove trees spanning some 1,500 hectares of land.

It is targeting to plant seven million trees on about 4,000 ha of land in at least seven provinces.

To date, SMCGP has planted in eight: Albay, Bataan, Bulacan, Davao Occidental, Negros Occidental, Pangasinan, Quezon and Zambales.

“Reforestation is one of the major sustainability priorities of the entire San Miguel Group. While we have had many similar efforts initiated by our various subsidiaries in the past, SMCGP has taken it to another level, planting a record 5 million trees in just under three years, with consistently high survival rates,” Ang said.

Ang expressed his gratitude to their partner communities and people’s organizations, local government units and employee volunteers for making this project a success.

“With our continued partnership with communities and local stakeholders, we are confident that not only will we reach our targets, but the trees we are planting today will grow to full maturity and benefit their surrounding environment for generations to come,” added Ang.

— Jordeene B. Lagare