Ayala-led renewable energy (RE) firm ACEN Corp. and its retail electricity supply (RES) unit continue to dominate the green energy retail market, but the company is now pushing to make clean energy more accessible to households by lowering the minimum demand threshold for participation in the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP).

On the sidelines of Philippines Energy Forum 2026, ACEN president Eric Francia explained that the recent adjustment to GEOP has allowed more consumers to enter the contestable market. GEOP, which gives end-users the freedom to choose their preferred renewable supplier for their own consumption, has seen its participation threshold lowered from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 50 kW. This means that consumers must meet a minimum demand level to secure renewable supply, with various RES companies then selling electricity to these qualified customers.

“It helps of course, but it still will not reach the household... If you want renewables to be taking advantage by households, especially the lower income households, it’s best to just open the GEOP to all households,” Francia told reporters in an ambush interview last Wednesday, April 8.

While the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) retail aggregation program (RAP) exists, Francia noted that the system may be too complex for typical residents.

“Aggregation is still a very difficult thing to pull off. It’s very cumbersome. Because you need to demonstrate now if you have to add and collect three monthly bills, add them all up, and then show that you reach the threshold... Imagine all the work that it requires not only for the retail provider but the system also, distribution utility (DU), IEMOP [Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines], the system, etc. It’s very cumbersome. So I think going straight to the household level will eliminate a lot of these extra steps,” he explained.

Francia said opening access to residential-level users would democratize renewables and deliver the growing capacity of clean energy directly into homes.

“I think that’s the golden opportunity here now that DOE [Department of Energy] has set the framework for starting to lower the GEOP threshold and for the Secretary of Energy now having the authority to declare when this would go down to the household level. So I’m really hopeful that within this administration, that this administration leadership will be the one responsible for so-called democratizing renewables and making renewables available to the households,” he said.

Based on 2025 data from Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions (ACEN RES) now holds 71 percent of Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) franchise area, accounting for about 65 percent of overall energy consumption in GEOP.

When asked about expansion beyond Luzon, Francia said the company’s current focus remains on the largest distribution utility area.

“Of course, we will also look into expanding into Visayas and Mindanao also. But bulk of our projects are in Luzon. And also, that’s consistent with the overall renewable installation in the Philippines—Luzon is the lowest in terms of ratio because a lot of the hydros are in Mindanao. I mean, they have significant hydro capacity there and Visayas has significant geothermal capacity. So, if you look at the energy mix, Luzon is the lowest actually for now... That’s where the largest opportunity for renewable development is.”