ACEN RES and Philippine Cultural College Forge Renewable Energy Partnership Under Retail Aggregation Program

ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions (ACEN RES), the retail electricity arm of the Ayala group, has enrolled five facilities of the Philippine Cultural College (PCC) across its three campuses into the Retail Aggregation Program (RAP). This marks ACEN RES’s inaugural participation in the government-led initiative, as reported in a stock exchange filing on Wednesday.

Tony Valdez, Senior Vice President for Market Transformation at ACEN, emphasized the company’s dedication to broadening renewable energy access: “This partnership with Philippine Cultural College demonstrates ACEN RES’s commitment to making renewable energy accessible to more businesses and institutions across the country.”

The RAP, established under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (EPIRA), permits multiple end-users with individual consumption below 500 kilowatts to combine their demand and select a preferred power supplier. Collectively, PCC’s facilities demand nearly 1 megawatt of power.

PCC operates campuses in Manila, Quezon City, and Caloocan, with the latter housing three buildings, while the Manila and Quezon City campuses each comprise a single building.

Willie H. Go, Director of the PCC Board of Trustees, highlighted the environmental and financial benefits of the collaboration: “By utilizing renewable energy through the RAP, we’re not only reducing our carbon footprint but also ensuring a more sustainable future for our students. This initiative allows us to optimize our electricity costs, freeing up resources that can be further invested in providing quality education.”

Earlier this month, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) announced that Manila Water Company, Inc., led by the Razon group, became the first entity to transition under the expanded RAP, shifting ten of its facilities with a combined demand of 500 kilowatts to the contestable market.

According to ERC data, the average retail market price in 2024 was P5.77 per kilowatt-hour, with the lowest price recorded at P3.50 per kilowatt-hour.