Manuel V. Pangilinan-led Maynilad Water Services, Inc. has partnered with the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to integrate the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) into its water and wastewater facilities in Metro Manila.

In a statement on Monday, Sept. 8, Maynilad announced that its water treatment plant in Poblacion, Muntinlupa City, along with 54 other water and wastewater facilities, will be supplied with power by Meralco’s local retail electricity supplier, MPower, via the RAP.

The Retail Aggregation Program (RAP) is an initiative of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) that allows multiple end-users to combine their energy consumption to meet the required demand threshold to choose their preferred energy supplier.

The 54 facilities included in the program are pump stations, reservoirs, and wastewater treatment plants.

According to Maynilad, the Poblacion water treatment plant will initially be powered by a mix of 90 percent non-renewable energy and 10 percent renewable energy (RE), with plans to increase the share of renewables in the future.

Ramoncito Fernandez, President and CEO of Maynilad, said the collaboration will help the company reduce its operational carbon emissions.

“These initiatives form part of our broader strategy to optimize energy consumption while reducing our overall environmental footprint,” he said.

The water concessionaire is aiming to increase its total clean energy share to 15 percent of its total power demand, with a goal of 35 percent to 50 percent by 2037. This will be achieved by using more RE sources and developing a carbon sink—a system that absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases.

“These efforts directly support the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which seeks to reduce the Philippines’ greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030,” the statement said.