Power utility giant Manila Electric Company (Meralco) is accelerating its rollout of more electric vehicles (EV) fleet as it targets to deploy 70 more vehicle in the months ahead.
Via its Green Mobility Program, the company is building up its EV portfolio and it will be advancing that from its current 60 electric motorcycles that are being used in the field work of its personnel – primarily to help improve and hasten response time to the concerns of its customers.
For the next round of 70 EV, the firm noted that these will comprise of electric cars, vans, pick-up trucks and electric motorcyles that shall be lined up for the use of its business centers and sector offices.
And to support the charging requirements of these electric vehicles, Meralco similarly announced that it is installing five fast-charging stations and depot-based AC chargers at strategic facilities across its franchise area.
The utility firm indicated that aside from ramping up electric mobility (e-mobility) within its business domains, it would likewise be expanding its service to the general public.
“Beyond the company borders, Meralco continues to provide green transport options to its institutional customers and for the riding public, through its subsidiary eSakay Inc.,” the company said.
Broadening the base of electrification of the transport sector in the country is among the core pillars of Meralco’s sustainability goals – and by design, this is also one of the anchors to the mid-century net zero goals being pledged by countries at the ongoing 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) Climate Change Summit in Glasgow, so planet warming can be restrained at 1.5 degrees C in line with the Paris Agreement.
In his speech at the opening of the 23rd Conference of the Electricity Power Supply Industry (CEPSI), Meralco President and CEO Ray C. Espinosa asserted that as an energy company, “we already identified climate change as among the most critical risk to public health, livelihood and economic growth.”
He conveyed that “even then, we put sustainability at the forefront – with a call to the power industry to prioritize the delivery not only of affordable, accessible and reliable power, but also of earth-friendly energy.”
Espinosa stressed that “this clamor for sustainability and the need to be socially inclusive rings true and even louder today.”
Meralco has just recently unveiled its proposed P180 billion worth of investments that will be funneled into sustainability-aligned projects – including EVs and charging infrastructure facilities, as well as renewable energy installations.
And as a customer-servicing power utility, it is also sorting out electricity supply procurement plans that will give premium to RE in the power supply agreements that it will underwrite – especially for its mid-merit requirements.