Meralco PowerGen Corp. or MGEN, is the power generation arm of the Manila Electric Company, or MERALCO, the largest private sector electric distribution utility company in the Philippines.
MGEN provides reliable and cost-competitive power supply to its clientele through its diversified power generation portfolio that utilizes advanced, highly efficient, and sustainable technologies.
MGEN started life in 2001 as the Asian Center for Energy Management Corp. It was then renamed to MGEN in 2010.
In 2021, it fully acquired Global Business Power Corp., one of the leading independent power producers in the Visayas and Mindanao and transformed it into MThermal.
MGreen, MGEN’s renewable energy (RE) arm, was also established in 2010, and is focused on investing in and developing energy projects that utilize clean and sustainable energy sources. According to the MGEN website, MGreen “plays a vital role in the attainment of MGEN’s goal of building a balanced power generation portfolio.
In January 2024, MGreen completed its P15.9-billion investment in SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), the publicly listed solar energy company founded by young businessman, now Batangas First District Rep. Leandro “Lean” Leviste.
In November 2024, SPNEC, through its wholly owned Terra Solar Philippines Inc., broke ground on its Terra Solar project in Central Luzon, which spans 3,500 hectares across Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, and is touted to be the world’s largest integrated solar and battery storage facility.
This project is poised to deliver 3,500 megawatts of peak solar power to the Luzon grid with 4,500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage.
Early this year, talks have already been made on developing a Terra Solar 2 project as a follow-up to the ongoing P200-billion development.
Just recently, MGEN paid a courtesy call on President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. together with ACWA Power of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to advance a strategic public-private partnership driving renewable energy development in the country.
ACPA Power is recognized as the world’s largest private water desalination company and a pioneer in green hydrogen.
Leading the respective delegations were Meralco and MGEN chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan and ACWA Power chairman Mohammad Abunayyan. Newly minted Energy Secretary Sharon Garin was also present.
The courtesy call was an opportunity for both companies to present their joint strategy for advancing utility-scale renewable energy development. This follows the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two companies that was formalized during the recent ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur, and which aims to co-develop large-scale solar and other renewable energy projects, with up to 1,700 megawatts of potential capacity currently under evaluation across the country.
“Projects like the MTerra solar facility are what we need to ensure every Filipino family has clean, affordable, and reliable energy,” President Marcos Jr. said in Filipino. “The government continues to support projects that drive cleaner, more stable, and more affordable energy for the New Philippines.”
As MGEN celebrates its 15th anniversary this year — just recently with its One MGEN Day! 15th Anniversary Milestones celebration — it expects to deliver 10,346 megawatts of net sellable capacity and 5,288 megawatts of attributable capacity over the next five years.
According to Emmanuel “Manny” Rubio, MGEN’s dynamic, rock star president and CEO, this would double the company’s current net sellable capacity of 5,068 megawatts and attributable capacity of 2,559 megawatts from both Philippine and Singapore operations.
The anticipated increase, of course, is attributable to the growth projects like the MTerra Solar Project.
“MGEN is set to exceed its 1,500-megawatt attributable renewable energy capacity goal by 2027, three years ahead of the original 2030 timeline,” according to Manny.
Chairman MVP, who is also CEO of MERALCO, said that MGEN accounted for 37 percent of MERALCO’s total earnings in the six-month period, which rose by 10 percent to P25.54 billion.
MERALCO, according to MVP, is on track to hit its target bottom line of P50 billion for this year.
Things are looking up and powered up, so to speak, for MGEN. I can only wish Manny and his powerhouse (no pun intended) management team more success as they move on from 15 years and beyond in driving the Philippines’ energy transition with urgency and purpose. Cheers! *