World leader cable manufacturer chooses RE
Many companies churn out sustainability as a byword, but only a few actually walk the talk.
Thanks to the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) regime, more and more big power consumers now have the power to choose their energy suppliers and live up to their sustainability theme. Doing so, has also allowed them to optimize their energy costs and realize some savings.
Draka Philippines — a member of the Prysmian Group of Companies, a world leader in the industry of hightechnology cables and systems for energy and telecommunications — is a testament that sustainability, reliability, and efficiency of their production can go hand-in-hand.
Julius Legaspi, commercial manager of Draka Philippines, said that RCOA also enabled the company, which is located at the Mactan Economic Zone 2 in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, to choose renewable energy in line with the Prysmian Group’s direction towards global sustainable growth.
Legaspi said that although power prices are still demand-driven, Draka has already experienced some savings because RCOA allows the company control over some factors that affect its consumption.
“We look forward to seeing supply (of power) surpassing demand to experience more benefits,” he said.
Under RCOA, power consumers with an average monthly demand of at least 1 MW can choose from among licensed retail electricity suppliers (RES) that are accredited with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Legaspi said that RCOA also enabled Draka to enjoy value-added services offered by licensed retail electricity suppliers (RES).
Draka chose Cleanergy, the AboitizPower brand of renewable energy, to power its operations. Draka Philippines manufactures automotive wires for globally known car manufacturers. Aside from domestic markets, its products are also being exported to China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and other Asian countries.
Prysmian Group posted an adjusted EBITDA of €711 million at the end of 2016, up 14 percent from the previous year and reported increased margins across the group during the period. The Prysmian Group’s 2016 net profit amounted to €262 million, an improvement of 22.4 percent on 2015.
Its automotive business, which includes Draka, reported stable volumes, accompanied by a good increase in adjusted EBITDA margins as of end 2016.
“AboitizPower has been a good partner in our growth,” Legaspi said. “Before RCOA, (relationship with electricity supplier) was very straightforward. Now, we get additional services that adds value to the partnership. From AboitizPower, we get the perception that they want to help us optimize the cost of the energy.”
According to Luis Miguel O. Aboitiz, executive vice president of one of the Philippines’biggest power producers AboitizPower, demand for renewable energy has been growing with more and more companies seeing the value of sustainability.
"There has been a tremendous increase in the demand for RE in the last few years and we are happy that AboitizPower's Cleanergy brand has a strong presence in this space thanks to our significant capacity from our RE power plants," Aboitiz said.
Aside from Draka Philippines, food and nutrition giant Nestle Philippines, green building pioneer The Net Group, Eton Properties, UnionBank and the Asian Development Bank have also chosen Cleanergy to power their operations and fulfill their sustainability goals.
Aboitiz said AboitizPower will continue to ramp up its RE portfolio through technologies that are available and viable, consistent with its strategy of achieving a balanced mix of energy sources for the country.
The company supports the Department of Energy's (DOE) RE roadmap, which targets to increase RE installed capacity to at least 20,000 MW by 2040.