MANILA, Philippines — Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary Hedcor is making the digital shift for its plant operations as it introduces the first centralized power plant control center in the country.
Hedcor can now operate, monitor, and control its 21 run-of-river hydropower facilities in Luzon and Mindanao, as well as one solar farm in the Visayas through its new National Operations Control Center (NOCC).
The NOCC allows for more efficient operations with less chance of technical errors through centralized real-time data monitoring and analysis, operation and control of equipment, management of the alarm system, and delivery of notifications and plant operation reports.
It also features operations and reliability dashboards for performance tracking and outage analysis.
Hedcor president and chief operating officer Rolando Pacquiao said the company is pioneering digital transformation in the renewable energy sector with the launch of the NOCC.
“We envision Hedcor as the largest renewable energy asset manager in the Philippines and the ASEAN region by growing the number of our assets to 40 by 2030. And to do this, Hedcor has to remain competitive in the digital age,” Pacquiao said.
Hedcor currently operates 22 hydroelectric facilities that deliver 280 megawatts (MW) of clean and renewable energy to the grid.
It also manages AboitizPower’s 59-MW peak (MWp) solar farm in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.
By 2023, the company expects to connect AboitizPower’s 94-MWp Cayanga and 159-MWp Laoag solar plants in Pangasinan to the control center.
AboitizPower president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio said the group has always taken pride in being a pioneer in renewable energy in the Philippines through Hedcor.
Through the NOCC, Hedcor looks forward to forging a stronger partnership with its stakeholders and a brighter energy future for the country.
“Under the Aboitiz group’s Great Transformation, we strive to maintain relevance in the industry by leveraging data science, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge technologies,” Rubio said.
AboitizPower chief corporate services officer Carlos Aboitiz said the NOCC is a testament to the unrealized possibilities of digital technology that exists to create a more sustainable business.
“The call for a Great Transformation opens the door to experiment and test boundaries in pursuing progress and longevity,” Aboitiz said.
More than being a driver of clean and renewable energy, Hedcor envisions being the leading force for social change through careful attention to the needs of its stakeholders.