Jin Navitas Electric Corp., the retail electricity supply arm of the Joy~Nostalg Group, plans to expand its power contract portfolio by 700 megawatts over the next two years to capitalize on the country's deregulated energy market.

Jose Alfonso Miras, JNEC president and chief executive officer, said the company is on track to meet its expansion targets by widening its retail customer base and increasing commercial contract volumes.

Shareholders handed down the aggressive capacity mandate to capture market share as regulatory shifts open the sector to smaller buyers, Miras said.

“In the middle of the year, we already reached 100 megawatts, so I think we’re still on time,” Miras told reporters on May 25.

Jin Navitas currently serves approximately 80 customers in multiple industrial sectors. The company is also targeting entities registered under the Energy Regulatory Commission’s (ERC) retail aggregation program.

The regulatory framework allows small commercial complexes, medium-sized enterprises, and residential condominiums to pool their power demand, enabling them to bypass traditional distribution utilities and buy electricity directly from competitive retail suppliers.

The addressable market for independent retailers is poised to widen next month. The ERC is scheduled to lower the threshold for market participation to 100 kilowatts, a policy shift expected to spark an influx of eligible commercial participants into the competitive market.

To anchor its growth, Jin Navitas is expanding its commercial partnerships, recently signing an agreement to supply electricity to the marine-themed park Manila Ocean Park.

The tourist destination will primarily draw power from the retailer's Ning*Ning solar rooftop infrastructure, supplemented by electricity purchased from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. The blended power arrangement will support the park’s main attractions and provide the stable electricity required to maintain artificial climates for its marine and land animals.

To support further commercial supply agreements, the company is looking to diversify its generation mix. Jin Navitas is negotiating with third-party power producers to secure additional renewable energy capacity, Miras said.

The company also plans to integrate battery energy storage systems into its network to enhance supply reliability. The storage technology could eventually be deployed at Manila Ocean Park once commercial terms are finalized, though the board has yet to grant final project approval.

In a more advanced development, Jin Navitas is preparing to build a battery storage facility in the central Philippine province of Iloilo.

The company is currently tendering the engineering, procurement, and construction contract for the facility, Miras said. Construction is scheduled to begin late this year, with commercial operations projected to start by August next year.