AdventEnergy, the retail electricity arm of Aboitiz Power Corp., has signed an agreement to supply power to two facilities of Frabelle Cold Storage Corp., marking an expansion of its portfolio under the government’s retail aggregation framework.

Under the terms of the deal announced Tuesday, April 7, AdventEnergy will deliver approximately 746 kilowatts of capacity to Frabelle’s cold storage operations in Navotas.

The partnership is facilitated through the Energy Regulatory Commission’s Retail Aggregation Program, which allows commercial end-users to consolidate the power requirements of multiple facilities to meet the threshold for the contestable market.

The move comes amid the rapid modernization of the Philippines’ cold chain industry. The sector is projected to grow by eight percent to 10 percent annually, driven by stricter food safety regulations, shifting consumer habits, and the proliferation of supermarkets and modern retail outlets across the archipelago.

For companies like Frabelle, which operate energy-intensive infrastructure, securing a fixed-rate or predictable power supply is a necessity to hedge against the volatility of the spot market.

The current regulatory framework allows end-users with a combined demand of at least 500 kilowatts to choose their own electricity provider. This threshold is scheduled to be lowered by the ERC to 100 kilowatts by June 2026, a policy shift expected to broaden the competitive retail electricity market by allowing smaller enterprises to exit the captive utility market.

Gina Camacho-David, AdventEnergy vice president for retail operations and portfolio management, said the program is designed to shield critical industries from fluctuating energy costs. She noted that for the food storage sector, where power interruptions or price spikes can jeopardize margins and product integrity, retail aggregation provides a necessary layer of operational security.

Wilfredo Salazar, Frabelle Cold Chain president, said the agreement is a “meaningful step” toward stabilizing the company’s operating expenses.

Frabelle, a subsidiary of the Frabelle Group of Companies, maintains a network of cold storage assets located near major Philippine ports and arterial highways to support its logistics and food processing divisions.

AboitizPower currently holds a 26 percent share of the country’s competitive retail electricity market. Beyond its new partnership with Frabelle, AdventEnergy provides aggregated power solutions to other major corporate entities, including the SM Group and DITO Telecommunity.