Meralco's power generation arm, Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), is looking to expand into Malaysia, citing the country’s rising demand for power, particularly from the growing data center industry.

MGen President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Rubio stated in a media roundtable that Malaysia is preparing for investments in data centers and expects to attract 8,000 megawatts of capacity.

He added that data centers represent the “new divide between developed and developing countries” and are crucial to controlling artificial intelligence (AI).

MGen’s potential move follows recent international partnerships and projects in Singapore, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia.

A Reuters report noted that while Malaysia has become a hotspot for data centers, attracting investments from U.S. technology companies, rising power costs are pressuring operators.

“There are opportunities for green development, and there’s a new plant that’s brownfield. More or less, brownfield in a way that the site is available,” Rubio said. “It used to house a plant, but now it’s been decommissioned. But there’s a site.”

MGen hopes to make significant progress with these new ventures by 2028. While MGen has not yet named its Malaysian partners, the company has forged other major international ties this year.

MGen and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) plan to expand their partnership beyond solar developments in the Philippines to include wind and energy storage systems (ESS).

MGen also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Arabian energy company ACWA Power to potentially co-develop up to 1,700 MW of solar and other renewable energy (RE) projects.

Additionally, in June, MGen's Singaporean subsidiary, PacificLight Power Pte. Ltd. (PLP), commissioned the 100 MW Fast Start Ancillary Services facility to help stabilize Singapore's power grid.