ACEN keeps lead in renewable energy retail market with 65% share

ACEN Corp., the energy arm of the Ayala Group, maintained its lead in the retail renewable energy sector last year, beating other players with a 65-percent market share.

Based on a report from the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), ACEN has been dominating the green energy option program (GEOP) for three years in a row—from 2023 to 2025.

Since its launch in December 2021, the GEOP has been enabling consumers with an average peak demand of 100 kilowatts (kW) to source their power from renewable energy sources.

The Department of Energy (DOE) earlier said it would trim the minimum eligibility threshold to 50 kW. The program also enables multiple end-users within a contiguous area to aggregate their electricity demand and negotiate for their clean power supply.

ACEN’s market share in 2025 was a significant improvement from 2022’s 36 percent, making it the “dominant group,” according to PEMC.

The company said its retail electricity business, ACEN Renewable Energy Solutions, continues to cement its presence in the market. Its contracted capacity last year was logged at 482 megawatts across 753 customers.

The firm’s new customers include San Beda College Alabang, Avida Towers Asten and Eastwood Excelsior Condominium.

Armed with more than P80 billion capital expenditure this year, ACEN is well-supported to expand its renewables portfolio. The operational capacity of its assets here and abroad already total at 4,300 MW.

Meanwhile, First Gen Corp. has also been a strong player with a 20-percent market share. The figure, however, was weaker compared to 2022’s 38 percent.

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The groups of Manila Electric Co. and Aboitiz also had “modest presence” in the sector. They cornered 2 percent and 1 percent of the market, respectively.

In a separate statement, the country’s anti-competition watchdog highlighted the need to review existing policies on firms operating in both electricity generation and retail supply to provide an equal footing for small players.

Based on its findings, the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said that retail electricity suppliers linked with power generators have “inherent advantages that make it difficult for smaller players to compete.”

“If generators would prioritize supplying electricity through bilateral contracts, spot market and retail supply agreements with their affiliate retailer, independent retailers would be left with residual supply,” the PCC said.