PLDT, Smart wean 24 sites from fossil fuel-based electricity
Billionaire Manuel Pangilinan and the Zobel family have teamed up to power 24 facilities of both PLDT Inc. and Smart Communications Inc. with renewable energy.
The telecommunications giants said in a joint statement on Sunday that its annual savings on energy consumption and operating costs would total P6 million under its partnership with ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions (ACEN RES), the retail electricity supply arm of Ayala-led ACEN Corp.
Those converted into 100-percent renewable energy-powered facilities are located in Metro Manila, as well as the provinces of Cavite, Rizal and Laguna, the telcos said.
“Recognizing the many benefits of [renewable energy], we are eyeing to switch more sites and further increase the share of renewables in our overall energy mix,” said Leo Gonzales, PLDT vice president and sector head for property and facilities.
Not just Luzon
Apart from these areas in Luzon, the companies said they were also working on shifting key sites in the Visayas and Mindanao to solar, geothermal and wind energy.
Prior to this batch, PLDT also partnered with ACEN RES in March to switch 33 facilities in the Greater Metro Manila area.
Also last March, the PLDT Group, which has committed to having net zero carbon emissions by 2050, secured its first green loan facility from HSBC Philippines totaling P1 billion to support the upgrade and expansion of its fiber network.
The company had explained that upgrading its network to fiber would eliminate the need for cooling systems, therefore bringing down energy cost.
In securing its green loan facility, which has been gaining much investor interest as of late, PLDT said it had wanted to expand its sustainable financing portfolio through other related projects.
PLDT’s first-semester earnings were slightly down to P18.4 billion from P18.45 billion in the same period last year due to modest growth in its core businesses.
Revenues inched up by 3 percent to P107.58 billion.
Pangilinan, chair and CEO of PLDT, earlier said they expected a “middle single-digit” full-year earnings growth from P26.61 billion in 2023.
